Alternative methods are needed to replace chemical nematicides because they have the potential to damage beneficial soil microbial diversity. Therefore, the present work was done to elucidate the soil ameliorative, plant-growth-promoting, and nematicidal properties of fly ash. A random block-designed pot experiment was conducted during the period, December 2018–February 2019. Seeds of carrot (Daucus carota L.) were sown under natural conditions in clay pots containing a growth medium comprising of field soil amended with different levels of fly ash. Plants were inoculated with Meloidogyne incognita that were molecularly characterized using 18S and D2/D3 fragments of 28S rDNA and morphologically through perineal pattern arrangement. The results revealed that fly ash application improved the soil’s important physicochemical characteristics. The inoculation of M. incognita significantly reduced the plant growth, yield, and pigment content of carrot compared to the untreated uninoculated plants. Carrot grown in 15% fly ash (85:15 w/w field soil:fly ash) growth substrate had significantly (P ≤ 0.05) improved plant growth, yield, and pigment content as compared to the untreated inoculated plants. Moreover, the proline content and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were enhanced by applying 15% fly ash. Fly ash amendment to the soil not only improved plant growth and yield but also reduced the gall index and egg mass index per root system of the carrot as well. Our results, therefore, suggest that 15% fly ash can be used in a sustainable way to improve the growth, yield, and resistance of carrot against the infection of M. incognita.

Pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a plant parasitic nematode which causes severe damage to several Pinus species. Two natural compounds, dipropyl trisulfide (DPTS) and methyl propyl trisulfide (MPTS), showed strong nematicidal activity against the pine wood nematode, presenting 4.24 and 17.81 μg/mL LC₅₀ values, respectively. However, hydrophobicity and low stability have limited their practical use in the field as nematicides. To overcome these problems, chitosan-coated nanoemulsions of DPTS and MPTS were developed. The optimum chitosan concentration for the delivery system of the two sulfides was 0.5%. Optimized chitosan-coated nanoemulsions of sulfides have a uniform size distribution (mean diameter = 203.7 and 207.7 nm, mean polydispersity index = 0.176 and 0.178) with sufficient colloidal stability (mean zeta potential = +40 and +45 mV). The LC₅₀ values of DPTS and MPTS nanoemulsions coated with 0.5% chitosan against the pine wood nematode were 5.01 and 16.60 μg/mL, respectively. In addition, chitosan coating improved the long-term storage stability and persistence of nematicidal activity of the nanoemulsions. This study indicates that the chitosan-coated nanoemulsion is a suitable formulation for sulfides as novel nematicides against the pine wood nematode for field application.

In this study, the safety and risk of fosthiazate as a nematicide against root-knot nematode in tomato and cherry tomato were evaluated. The dissipation and residue of fosthiazate for 28 days in tomatoes and cherry tomatoes were determined and studied by HPLC after simple, rapid pre-treatment. The mean recovery was 83.79~94.18%, and the relative standard deviations were 3.97~7.40%. Results showed that the half-lives of fosthiazate in tomatoes (4.81~5.37 days) were significantly lower than that in cherry tomatoes (5.25~5.73 days). At the pre-harvest interval (PHI) of 21 days, the residues of tomatoes and cherry tomatoes were 0.032~0.046 mg/kg, which were lower than the maximum residue level (MRL) established in China. The potential risks of fosthiazate exposure through the dietary intake of tomatoes and cherry tomatoes to different populations were also studied. According to the results of dietary risk assessment, the residual levels of fosthiazate were within the acceptable range of long-term dietary risk in different populations in China within the sampling interval of 21 days after the application of fosthiazate. Our results show that fosthiazate at 2250 g.a.i./ha in the field control of root-knot nematode has high safety and low risk, and can provide a reference for the safe and reasonable use of fosthiazate as a nematicide in the field.

Biomixtures comprise the active part of biopurification systems (BPS) for the removal of pesticide-containing wastewater from agricultural origin. Considering that biomixtures contain an important amount of lignocellulosic substrates, their bioaugmentation with degrading ligninolytic fungi represents a promising way to improve BPS. The fungus Trametes versicolor was employed for the bioaugmentation of rice husk-compost-soil (GCS) biomixtures in order to optimize the removal of the highly toxic insecticide/nematicide carbofuran (CFN). Composition of biomixtures has not been optimized before, and usually, a volumetric composition of 50:25:25 (lignocellulosic substrate:humic component:soil) is employed. Optimization of the biomixture composition was performed with a central composite design, using the volumetric content of rice husk (pre-colonized by the fungus) and the volumetric ratio compost/soil as design variables. Performance of biomixtures was comprehensively assayed considering CFN removal, the production of toxic transformation products (3-hydroxycarbofuran/3-ketocarbofuran), the ability to mineralize [¹⁴C]carbofuran, and the residual toxicity in the matrix. According to the models, the optimal volumetric composition of the GCS biomixture is 30:43:27, which maximizes removal and mineralization rate, and minimizes the accumulation of transformation products. Results support the value of assessing new biomixture formulations according to the target pesticide in order to obtain their optimal performance, before their use in BPS.

Recently, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has banned the use of iprodione (IPR), a common hydantoin fungicide and nematicide that was frequently used for the protective treatment of crops and vegetables. In the present study, the treatment of 2 mg/L (6.06 μM) aqueous IPR solution through ultraviolet-C (UV-C)-activated persulfate (PS) advanced oxidation process (UV-C/PS) was investigated. Baseline experiments conducted in distilled water (DW) indicated that complete IPR removal was achieved in 20 min with UV-C/PS treatment at an initial PS concentration of 0.03 mM at pH = 6.2. IPR degradation was accompanied with rapid dechlorination (followed as Cl⁻ release) and PS consumption. UV-C/PS treatment was also effective in IPR mineralization; 78% dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was removed after 120-min UV-C/PS treatment (PS = 0.30 mM) compared with UV-C at 0.5 W/L photolysis where no DOC removal occurred. LC analysis confirmed the formation of dichloroaniline, hydroquinone, and acetic and formic acids as the major aromatic and aliphatic degradation products of IPR during UV-C/PS treatment whereas only dichloroaniline was observed for UV-C photolysis under the same reaction conditions. IPR was also subjected to UV-C/PS treatment in simulated tertiary treated urban wastewater (SWW) to examine its oxidation performance and ecotoxicological behavior in a more complex aquatic environment. In SWW, IPR and DOC removal rates were inhibited and PS consumption rates decreased. The originally low acute toxicity (9% relative inhibition towards the photobacterium Vibrio fischeri) decreased to practically non-detectable levels (4%) during UV-C/PS treatment of IPR in SWW.

Carbofuran is an anticholinesterase carbamate commonly used as an insecticide, nematicide and acaricide in agricultural practice throughout the world. However, data on its sorption in temperate soils from Europe is limited. Laboratory studies were conducted to determine the adsorption of carbofuran on three distinct Austrian soils using batch experiments and radiometric techniques. Carbofuran adsorption capacity of the soils was found to be low in the three soils tested and showed to be related to the soils clay and organic carbon contents. The pesticide presented linear adsorption isotherms in all of the three soils. Due to the low sorption of carbofuran in the soils tested and to its high water solubility, there is a risk of migration to water bodies through run off and consequent negative effects on aquatic organisms and soil biota.

Nematodes are considered as major plant parasites damaging most of the crops, and neem plant exhibits potential nematicidal and insecticidal properties. This study aimed to check nemato-toxic potential of neem (Azadirachta indica) plant using in vitro and in-planta trials against Meloidogyne incognita. The findings suggested that the neem extracts were lethal to second-stage juvenile (J₂) and egg hatching with simultaneous enhancement in treated tomato plant growth. The egg numbers of M. incognita found less sensitive to the aqueous and alcoholic extracts than those of J₂ as per LC₅₀ values. Complete mortality of J₂s was recorded at 40, 60, and 80% of neem standard extract (SE) dilutions and for undiluted SE of neem. The undiluted SE extract showed 100% inhibition of egg production. The highest reductions in the number of galls/root system, J₂ population, and egg production were observed with 80, 85, and 82% SE as compared control (untreated distilled water). The maximum 250% growth increment was observed in the length of tomato roots supplemented with neem extracts. Resistance-related enzyme [phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and peroxidase (POX)] activities in tomato plant have been increased significantly by supplementation with neem extracts. It appears that the aerial parts of neem (A. indica) extracts showed significant and sustainable eco-friendly nemato-toxic potential towards M. incognita growth inhibition and eradication using alcoholic extracts compared to aqueous. From this study, it was concluded that the neem aerial parts were useful for the control of M. incognita and could be a possible replacement for synthetic nematicides in crop protection with utilization in enhancement of specific enzyme activity in tomato plants.

A biomixture constitutes the active core of the on-farm biopurification systems, employed for the detoxification of pesticide-containing wastewaters. As biomixtures should be prepared considering the available local materials, the present work aimed to evaluate the performance of ten different biomixtures elaborated with by-products from local farming, in the degradation of the insecticide/nematicide carbofuran (CFN), in order to identify suitable autochthonous biomixtures to be used in the tropics. Five different lignocellulosic materials mixed with either compost or peat and soil were employed in the preparation of the biomixtures. The comprehensive evaluation of the biomixtures included removal of the parent compound, formation of transformation products, mineralization of radiolabeled CFN, and determination of the residual toxicity of the process. Detoxification capacity of the matrices was high, and compost-based biomixtures showed better performance than peat-based biomixtures. CFN removal over 98.5 % was achieved within 16 days (eight out of ten biomixtures), with half-lives below 5 days in most of the cases. 3-Hydroxycarbofuran and 3-ketocarbofuran were found as transformation products at very low concentrations suggesting their further degradation. Mineralization of CFN was also achieved after 64 days (2.9 to 15.1 %); several biomixtures presented higher mineralization than the soil itself. Acute toxicity determinations with Daphnia magna revealed a marked detoxification in the matrices at the end of the process; low residual toxicity was observed only in two of the peat-based biomixtures. Overall best efficiency was achieved with the biomixture composed of coconut fiber-compost-soil; however, results suggest that in the case of unavailability of coconut fiber, other biomixtures may be employed with similar performance.

Pesticide biopurification systems contain a biologically active matrix (biomixture) responsible for the accelerated elimination of pesticides in wastewaters derived from pest control in crop fields. Biomixtures have been typically prepared using the volumetric composition 50:25:25 (lignocellulosic substrate/humic component/soil); nonetheless, formal composition optimization has not been performed so far. Carbofuran is an insecticide/nematicide of high toxicity widely employed in developing countries. Therefore, the composition of a highly efficient biomixture (composed of coconut fiber, compost, and soil, FCS) for the removal of carbofuran was optimized by means of a central composite design and response surface methodology. The volumetric content of soil and the ratio coconut fiber/compost were used as the design variables. The performance of the biomixture was assayed by considering the elimination of carbofuran, the mineralization of ¹⁴C-carbofuran, and the residual toxicity of the matrix, as response variables. Based on the models, the optimal volumetric composition of the FCS biomixture consists of 45:13:42 (coconut fiber/compost/soil), which resulted in minimal residual toxicity and ∼99 % carbofuran elimination after 3 days. This optimized biomixture considerably differs from the standard 50:25:25 composition, which remarks the importance of assessing the performance of newly developed biomixtures during the design of biopurification systems.