Assessment of microbial biocontrol agent (BCA) viability to mechanical and thermal stress by simulating spray application conditions

Background

In order to improve the biological control agent (BCA) efficacy, stress factors threatening the viability of microorganisms during spray application need to be determined. The effect of spray mixture temperature and exposure time on Trichoderma harzianum T 22 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QST713 viability were tested. Concurrently the combined effect of mechanical and thermal stress effect on BCA viability were tested at two initial spray mixture temperatures (14 and 25 °C) by simulating a spray application using airblast sprayers featured by different tank capacity and a spray liquid circuit (without and with hydraulic agitation system). To assess the BCA microorganism viability, spray mixture samples were collected at time intervals along trials and plated to count the colony forming units (CFU).

Results

The critical temperature threshold that inhibited BCA viability was 35 °C with 30 min of exposure. The sprayer type, the initial temperature of the spray mixture and the temperature increment during the trials significantly decreased the number of CFU recovered. When simulating a spray application, the spray mixture temperature increase rate was determined mainly by the residual amount of spray mixture in the tank. Even if the tank capacity does not substantially affect the final temperature reached by the spray mixture, the higher residual spray mixture in bigger tanks can expose the BCAs for a longer time to critical temperatures.

Conclusions

Experimental trials allowed us to identify the effect of factors affecting the viability of tested BCAs, providing information about the actual chance to guarantee the biological efficacy of BCA treatments. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

Challenges and opportunities of unmanned aerial vehicles as a new tool for crop pest control

The application of pesticides is not simply delivering chemicals to the target area. It also involves considering the negative aspects and developing strategies to deal with them during the application process, to ensure the maximization of pesticides use efficiency and the maintenance of the ecosystem. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sprayers demonstrate unique advantages compared to traditional ground sprayers, particularly in terms of maneuverability and labor intensity reduction, showed great potential for chemical application in pest control. It is undeniable that there exist challenges in the practice of UAV spraying, such as higher potential risks of pesticide drift or pathogen transmission, uncertainty canopy deposition for different crops, and unexpected leaf breakage induced by downwash flow. Maximizing the utilization of downwash flow while avoiding lateral air movement outside the intended target crop area is a major issue for chemical application with UAV sprayers, particularly in light of the increasingly apparent consensus on the need for enhanced environmental protection during the chemical application process. It must be considered that the operation strategy in different scenarios and for different crop targets is not the same, unique requirements should be given on nozzle atomization, flight parameters, adjuvants and aircraft types in specific working situations. In future, the implementation of spray drift prediction, technical procedures development, and other solutions aimed at reducing pesticide drift and improving deposition quality, is expected to promote the adoption of UAV sprayers by more farmers. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.     

半干旱草甸草地不同处理下植被特征与土壤酶活性的变化

不同草地处理措施对植被和土壤会产生重要的影响。为探究不同草地处理措施对草甸草地的影响,以科尔沁草甸草地不同点为研究对象,设置围封（UNM）、围封+刈割（M）、围封+火烧（F）、放牧（G）4种处理,针对生长季土壤脲酶（S-UE）、碱性磷酸酶（S-AKP）、蔗糖酶（S-SC）活性和植被特征等开展研究,以探究草甸草地的最佳处理方式。结果显示：1）土壤酶活性随着土层深度的增加而降低,不同处理间的差异随着土层深度增加逐渐降低。2）放牧较围封处理,不同点植被高度、盖度、地上生物量和酶活性均降低,而丰富度指数增加。3）刈割较围封处理,不同功能群物种的补偿能力不同,禾本科的补偿能力大于菊科。4）火烧较围封处理,不同点植被高度、盖度、地上生物量、丰富度指数和3种水解酶活性均增加。5）多年刈割较放牧处理,植被高度、盖度和地上生物量和蔗糖酶、碱性磷酸酶活性均增加,丰富度指数和土壤脲酶活性均降低。综上所述,控制性火烧是半干旱地区草甸草地的最佳处理方式。     

FLUENT软件及其在植保机械方面的应用

FLUENT软件是流体力学中通用性较强的商业软件之一，由于FLUENT软件的应用，节省了大量的人力和物力。对实际应用有重大的指导作用。为此，通过简述FLUENT在植保机械方面的应用实例，提出了FLUENT在植保机械方面的发展前景。     

三氯蔗糖在食品加工中的应用及测定方法的研究概况

介绍了三氯蔗糖的特性。阐述了三氯蔗糖在食品加工中的应用及测定方法的研究概况。     

施肥对不同品种麦田CO2通量的影响

为探讨施肥对小麦田间CO2释放量的影响,本研究设计以4个不同施肥水平为主处理,以3个不同年代的主栽品种碧玛1号、烟农15号、山农11号为研究对象,采用封闭式静态暗箱技术,应用LI-6400型便携式光合仪(美国)在作物生长期测定土壤CO2释放量和光合速率。同时测定了环境影响因素土壤温度和水分等。研究结果表明,施肥有利于增加土壤CO2释放量,且中氮处理水平释放量最多;土壤温度和水分对土壤CO2释放量有一定的影响,土温越高,水分越大,CO2释放越多;麦田CO2交换量与小麦根系活性呈正相关。     

红酵母的性质及其应用研究

红酵母是酵母菌的一个属,腐生,分布广泛,在医学、食品、化工和农业等方面都有一定的应用,但目前并没有引起人们足够的重视。综述了红酵母的种属特性、理化特性、培养及其应用。     

HACCP体系在种植业应用的理论初探

重点介绍了HACCP体系的含义、起源、发展和原理,探讨了该体系在农产品生产等农业种植业领域中应用的可行性,对我国无公害农产品的生产、绿色食品的认证和发展农村经济、保障人们的身体健康具有重要的现实的意义。     

Application and Advancement of Reinforced Earth Technique

In this paper, the application of reinforced earth technique, principle and calculation method, new reinforced materials developed and produced are introduced. A few of key technical problems in reinforced earth application is discussed, such as reinforced earth behavior, calculation method, durability of reinforced material, amendment and complement of the current standards. Then, the reinforced earth technique development and advancement were introduced.     

Enterprise Information Engineering Model and Its Integrated Support Environment

By analyzing the process of enterprise information engineering construction and intra relationship among information system requirement, business process modeling, application system constructing and project management, one of 4 meta model composed of requirement engineering, process engineering, application system engineering and support engineering is proposed for enterprise information engineering. The developments and applications of the business processes and its application systems are integrated into the same development space and application space. Basing on this, a prototype system composed of requirement modeling environment, business process modeling environment, application system modeling environment, and support engineering environment has been designed and built, which is used for supporting enterprise information engineering constructing. It is valued for the enterprise information engineering construction in our country.