Uptake of the systemic fungicide triadimefon by clover and its effect on symbiotic nitrogen fixation

Clover is frequently grown in rotation with cereals in order to increase soil nitrogen. The systemic fungicide triadimefon, widely used against cereal pathogens, is readily taken up from soil by clover and degraded to a single major metabolite. Plant weight and symbiotic nitrogen fixation by Rhizobium trijolii are affected only by concentrations of triadimefon in soil that are much in excess of those likely to be encountered in practice. Triadimefon residues are thus unlikely to affect nitrogen fixation by clover under field conditions.     

The effect of seven substituted urea herbicides on the soil microflora

Chloroxuron, diuron, fluometuron, metobromuron and monuron added to soil at 500 parts/million a.i. on a dry weight basis caused an initial stimulation of CO₂ production, followed by indications of inhibition. Nitrification was clearly inhibited, particularly by monuron and metobromuron. Metoxuron at 5 and 50 parts/million a.i. had no effect on CO₂ output and nitrification, but at 500 parts/million a.i. both were greatly reduced. Numbers of fungal propagules were temporarily lower at 50 parts/million a.i., and severely curtailed at 500 parts/million a.i. but total counts of bacterial propagules were greatly increased. Linuron had an inhibitory effect on CO₂ evolution at 500 parts/million a.i. but this varied in extent and duration; some reduction was also found at 50 parts/ million a.i. At 500 parts/million a.i. there was no effect on mineralisation of N but in soil supplemented with ammonium sulphate nitrification was reduced. Changes in microbial equilibrium occurred, but were less marked than with metoxuron. Cellulose decomposition was also reduced. Small amounts of 3,4dichloroaniline were found in linuron-treated soils, but microbial activities were not affected when 5 parts/million 3,4-dichloroaniline was added to the soil. However, at 140 parts/million microbial activities were affected adversely, but in a different pattern to that for linuron; nitrification was severely reduced, but numbers of fungal propagules were hardly affected, suggesting that the effects observed in linuron-treated soil were not due to this metabolite.     

Structure—activity relationships for some organotin molluscicides

Bioassay data are reported for 12 organotin compounds, R₃SnX, against the adult snail, Biomphalaria glabrata, an intermediate host of schistosomiasis. The relationship between the molluscicidal activity and the nature of the R and X groups in the organotin compounds is discussed, as well as the possible mode of toxic action of these compounds.     

Influence of organic carbon on reductive dechlorination of thiobencarb in California rice field soils

The herbicide thiobencarb is suspected of causing delayed phytotoxicity syndrome (DPS) in rice plants. While the ultimate agent appears to be its dechlorinated product (deschlorothiobencarb), the influence of organic carbon on the formation of deschlorothiobencarb in California rice field soils has not been investigated. Thus, two different soils were compared for their ability to reductively dechlorinate thiobencarb with carbon augmentation: one from the eastern Sacramento Valley, which has historically displayed DPS, and one from the western Sacramento Valley, which has not. Rice straw was homogenized into samples of each soil to produce 0, 0.33 or 2% organic carbon augmentation. During 90-days of anoxic incubation, substantial deschlorothiobencarb production was measured in both soil types. However, only the thiobencarb degradation rate in the eastern valley soil was positively correlated with carbon content. Thus, other characteristics of DPS-resistant soils may limit deschlorothiobencarb formation.     

Probabilistic model for estimating field mortality of target and non-target bird populations when simultaneously exposed to avicide bait

A probabilistic model was developed to estimate target and non-target avian mortality associated with the application of the avicide CPTH (3-chloro-p-toluidine hydrochloride) to minimize sprouting rice damage in the southern USA. CPTH exposures for individual birds were predicted by random sampling from species-specific non-parametric distributions of bait seed consumption and CPTH residues detected on individual bait seeds. Mortality was predicted from the species-specific exposure versus mortality relationship. Individual variations in this response were captured in the model by Monte Carlo sampling from species-specific distributions of slopes and median toxicity values (LD50) for each bird. The model was used to simultaneously predict mortality (percentage of exposed population and number of birds killed/weight of consumed bait) for a target (blackbird) and non-target (mourning dove) species feeding on bait sites for up to five consecutive days.     

The crucial role of calcium interacting with soil pH in enhanced biodegradation of metam-sodium

Enhanced biodegradation of soil-applied pesticides has long been correlated with soil pH above ca 6.5-7.5, but the possibility of confounding or interdependence with calcium, given that soil calcium concentration increases exponentially as pH rises above that range, has not previously been studied. Enhanced biodegradation of the broad-spectrum biocide metam-sodium was readily induced de novo in a naturally acid sandy soil (pH 4.2 measured in 0.01 M CaCl2) by multiple treatments, but only when the pH and calcium concentration were raised simultaneously using calcium carbonate (lime). Enhanced biodegradation was not induced when soil pH alone was raised with magnesium carbonate, nor when calcium alone was raised using calcium chloride. In limed sand treated monthly for 12 months, the degradation rate increased to where dissipation was complete within 24 h of application after the fifth metam-sodium treatment at pH 7.8 and after the eighth metam-sodium treatment at pH 6.8. Pesticide concentration was reduced, but not eliminated, at pH 5.8 and was unchanged at pH 4.8. When metam-sodium was applied bi- and tri-monthly, the degradation rate also increased when soil pH was raised with calcium carbonate, but to a lesser extent than with monthly applications. In an acid loam soil amended to the same pH values with calcium carbonate and treated monthly, there was no correlation between soil pH or calcium concentration and degradation. The results reveal the crucial interdependence of pH and calcium concentration in enhancement of biodegradation of soil-applied pesticides, but confirm that the phenomenon ultimately depends on interaction with soil type and frequency of application factors, all of which probably together act to affect the abundance, composition and activity of the soil microbial biomass.     

Book reviews

High Energy Diets for Poultry by W. O. Brown. U.S. Feed Grains Council: London, 1964. 48 pp.

The Nutrient Requirements of Farm Livestock. No. 1, Poultry: Summary of Recommendations. 50 pp. Agricultural Research Council, H.M.S.O., London, 1963. Price 2/6.     

SNOMED representation of explanatory knowledge in veterinary clinical pathology

BACKGROUND: The Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) is an established standard nomenclature for the expression of human and veterinary medical concepts. Nomenclature standards ease sharing of medical information, create common points of understanding, and improve data aggregation and analysis. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine whether SNOMED adequately represented concepts relevant to veterinary clinical pathology. METHODS: Concepts were isolated from 3 different types of clinical pathology documents: 1) a textbook (Textbook), 2) the Results sections of industry pathology reports (Findings), and Discussion sections from industry pathology reports (Discussion). Concepts were matched (mapped) by 2 reviewers to semantically-equivalent SNOMED concepts. A quality score of 3 (good match), 2 (problem match), or 1 (no match) was recorded along with the SNOMED hierarchical location of each mapped concept. Results were analyzed using Cohen's Kappa statistic to assess reviewer agreement and chi-square tests to evaluate association between document type and quality score. RESULTS: The percentage of good matches was 48.3% for the Textbook, 45.4% for Findings, and 47.5% for Discussion documents, with no significant difference among documents. Of remaining concepts, 40% were partially expressed by SNOMED and 14% did not match. Mean reviewer agreement on quality score assignments was 76.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Although SNOMED representation of veterinary clinical pathology content was limited, missing and problem concepts were confined to a relatively small area of terminology. This limitation should be addressed in revisions of SNOMED to optimize SNOMED for veterinary clinical pathology applications.