ACS agricultural science & technology最新文献

Copper (Cu) contamination in paddy fields leads to excessive Cu in rice grains and a low grain yield, posing a serious threat to sustainable agricultural production. We propose the application of seed priming with silver ions (Ag⁺) as biostimulants to trigger reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and enhance immune responses, thereby improving rice resistance to Cu stress. The results showed that seed priming with 10 μM Ag⁺ significantly improved rice tolerance to Cu, increased the fresh biomass by 22.1%, and reduced the Cu content in the roots and shoots by 25.3 and 13.4%, respectively, compared to the hydropriming treatments. Furthermore, seed priming with 10 μM Ag⁺ increased nutrient uptake in rice, leading to higher contents of Ca (15.1%), Fe (14.9%), and Mg (10.2%) in the shoots as well as Ca (21.0%), Mn (37.0%), and Mg (29.1%) in the roots. More Cu was immobilized in the root cell wall, thereby significantly enhancing root cell viability, maintaining the root morphology, and reducing malondialdehyde accumulation. Transcriptomics analyses revealed that Ag⁺-priming activated the phytohormone signal transduction and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway and other kinase signaling pathways in rice roots under Cu stress. These signals triggered the upregulation of defense-related gene expression, including the Cu vesicle transporter gene, oxidoreductase activity genes, and hydrogen peroxide catabolic process genes, amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism, and starch and sucrose metabolism. This study suggests that seed Ag⁺-priming is a simple and effective way to alleviate Cu toxicity and decrease Cu accumulation in rice, which ensures safe rice production in a sustainable way.

Environmental impacts of cannabis production are of increasing concern because it is a newly legal and growing industry. Although a handful of studies have quantified the impacts of indoor production, very little is known about the impact of outdoor cannabis agriculture. Outdoor production typically uses little direct energy but can require significant fertilizer and other inputs due to dissipative losses via runoff and mineralization. Conversely, fertilizer high in nitrogen can be counterproductive, as it produces flowers with decreased cannabinoid content. This study has two aims: (1) To identify reduced-fertilizer regimes that provide optimal cannabis flower yields with reduced inputs and (2) to quantify how this shifts greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion (fossil and metal), terrestrial acidification, and the eutrophication potential of outdoor cannabis production. Primary data from a fertilizer response trial are incorporated into a life-cycle assessment model. Results show that outdoor cannabis agriculture can be 50 times less carbon-emitting than indoor production. Dissemination of this knowledge is of utmost importance for producers, consumers, and government officials in nations that have either legalized or will legalize cannabis production.

In-feed tylosin, a macrolide, is widely used to prevent liver abscessation in feedlot cattle by repressing growth of ruminal Fusobacterium necrophorum. Although tylosin has been used for almost five decades, no resistant F. necrophorum subsp. necrophorum strain has ever been isolated. Here, we report two strains (FN37 and FN38) previously isolated from abscessed livers containing several antibiotic resistance genes: cfr(C), tet(O), ant(6)-Ia, and erm(B), the latter of which confers resistance to macrolides via modification of the ribosome. To evaluate if erm(B) conferred a phenotypic advantage, four strains (deposited strain ATCC 25286, ruminal isolate FNC, and abscess isolates FN37 and FN38) were tested for their responses to tylosin. The two erm(B)-harboring strains showed resistance at concentrations commonly found within the ruminal compartment under current dosing guidelines, and in the case of FN38, up to 100 μg/mL tylosin was tolerated. Tylosin susceptibility varied depending on the growth phase (stationary vs logarithmic) and preconditioning (growth in medium containing tylosin at a concentration of 1 μg/mL) of the inoculum in all four strains, but the two harboring the erm(B) gene demonstrated robust resistance. This discovery along with whole genome sequencing and preliminary annotation indicates horizontal gene transfer and acquisition of resistance genes, highlighting the need to revisit antimicrobial strategies for the feedlot cattle industry.

Insects are still the main competitor of humans for food, and combined with other environmental stresses (such as hydric stress), they cause several yield losses and the reduction in crop quality. Therefore, the effects of the herbivory, hydric stress, methyl jasmonate, and the combination of these stresses on Glycine max cultivars resistant and susceptible to Spodoptera cosmioides were investigated. Chemical profile analyses of volatile and nonvolatile compounds from leaves revealed a clear influence of the stress conditions on the plant response according to the cultivar. Plants susceptible to S. cosmioides under hydric stress showed chemical variations characteristic of plant acclimation. Application of methyl jasmonate to the leaves induced resistance responses in both cultivars. The results indicated the activation of pathways such as glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxylipins, phenylpropanoids, and fatty acids. Thus, this study contributes to a molecular understanding of the resistance mechanisms developed in G. max cultivars.

Increasing demand of zinc fertilizers for sustainable food production and low micronutrient fertilizer use efficiency (2–3%) advocate the development of controlled-release fertilizers to enhance the efficacy of inputs and mitigate the environmental pollution caused by leaching losses. In the present work, an ecofriendly zeolite Y-based zinc fertilizer was synthesized via a facile reflux method. The structural and morphological characteristics of the synthesized zinc fertilizer were examined by Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller techniques. The characterizations confirmed the presence of 4.9% (wt) zinc in the synthesized fertilizer without alteration in the zeolite framework structure. Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to study the zinc adsorption of zeolite. The Langmuir isotherm was found to best fit the experimental data with a maximum zinc adsorption capacity of 130.72 mg/g. The zinc release studies were carried out in water as well as in soil, and the zinc release mechanism was studied by fitting different release kinetic models. About 55% of the zinc was released in water in 10 days, while in soil, it was found that about 0.017% of the zinc was leached out in 21 days. The mechanism of zinc release from the zeolite-based zinc fertilizer followed the Korsmeyer–Peppas model, indicating zinc diffusion from the synthesized fertilizer as a non-Fickian process, and the zinc release in soil followed the Higuchi model, describing the zinc release through dissolution and diffusion, confirming the controlled release properties of the synthesized fertilizer. Hence, the present findings offer new opportunities for the development of zeolite Y-based fertilizers for controlled utilization of plant nutrients for environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture.

Over the past five decades, heavy reliance on pesticides in global food production has raised concerns regarding the efficiency of pest control and environmental contamination. Consequently, the development of supramolecular drug carriers based on host–guest interactions, particularly cyclodextrins, has shown promise in precision agriculture due to their predictable and adjustable properties. In this study, a series of amphiphilic random copolymers incorporating hydrophilic acrylamide and hydrophobic benzotriazole were designed and synthesized through coprecipitation to form a supramolecular inclusion complex. The copolymer and inclusion complex demonstrated pH-responsive behavior, which enabled the controlled release of benzotriazole for the targeted control of B. cinerea, a destructive phytopathogen that causes gray mold disease. The antimicrobial activity of the complex was observed to be superior in targeting specific SF9 cells compared to HepG2 cells and exhibited favorable biosafety. The biological activity and cytotoxicity of these products were evaluated, demonstrating their potential for protecting plants and fruits against B. cinerea.

To increase the controlled-release performance of film-coated fertilizer granules using polymer latex as a coating reagent, increasing the cross-linking density of the film during spray coating is crucial. In this study, vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) was incorporated into styrene-acrylate copolymer latex, with film cross-linking achieved by the condensation of silanol groups derived from the hydrolysis of VTES. VTES-copolymerized latex-coated urea granules were prepared by spray coating in a fluidized bed. The film cross-linking density and controlled-release performance were significantly increased. The structural characteristics of the film cross-linked network were theoretically calculated and analyzed. The cross-linked network with high cross-linking density had a smaller size of mesh structure, significantly reducing the free volume of the film and increasing the diffusion resistance of nutrients. The urea diffusion coefficient across the planar film decreased from 2.74 × 10^–15 to 0.125 × 10^–15 m²/s when the VTES copolymerized ratio reached 10%. At a low coating amount of 4 wt %, the release period of the film-coated urea granules increased to 32 days, surpassing that of the reference sample by over 300%.

Wild rocket is a baby-leaf vegetable crop devoted to the high-convenience food chain for the preparation of ready-to-eat salads. Healthiness and ecological management of crops are the requirements increasingly demanded by the market. On the other hand, very intensive cultivations under greenhouse are prone to fungal soil-borne pathogen attacks, such as Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. raphani, the causal agent of wilting. Control strategies currently include chemical and nonchemical means, but the implementation of digital systems able to support detection of outbreaks and promote optimization of interventions may concur to increase efficacy of management strategies. Thermography, based on the recording and analysis of thermal energy emitted by plant canopy in the infrared spectral range, is a well-known imaging technique able to monitor plants at both proximal and remote scales providing information on incipient plant stresses. In this work, wild rocket plants subjected to artificial infection with pathogen conidia performed by a dipping or flooding method were monitored during the pathogenesis by both passive and active thermographic approaches. Canopy temperature changes were compared with symptom severity indices measured by visual inspection on both inoculated and control plants. As key result of this study, depending on the inoculum concentration, passive thermography allowed classifying infected plants 30–48 h post inoculation (hpi) by dipping, and in coherence with the disease symptoms detection by visual inspection. Similar results were found in the case of the flooding inoculation, where infected plants were detected by thermography at 48 h.p.i. Active thermography revealed a decrease in leaf heat capacity attributable to the fungal infection and the subsequent tissue colonization over time. These findings constitute a solid base of knowledge about the thermal imaging applied to wild rocket affected by Fusarium wilting, and they can contribute to the development of new remote sensing systems for the detection of primary outbreaks.

Fomesafen serves as a widely employed selective herbicide for addressing broadleaf weeds, but the short duration of efficacy limits utilization efficiency. There exists an exigent requirement to extend its efficacy through controlled release mechanisms. Fomesafen@SiO₂-starch microspheres with α-amylase responsiveness were synthesized through the direct binding of drug-loaded silica microspheres and modified starch. This fabrication method capitalizes on the enzymatic degradation potential of the outer starch layer by amylase. In contrast with earlier analogous structures that exhibited inferior drug loading efficacy, the prepared fomesafen@SiO₂-starch microspheres demonstrated a significantly enhanced drug loading capacity of up to 35.7%. Furthermore, in comparison to fomesafen technical, the prepared fomesafen@SiO₂-starch microspheres exhibited a notable capacity to mitigate the photolysis of fomesafen through the utilization of the starch outer layer. Additionally, the fomesafen@SiO₂-starch microspheres demonstrated favorable wettability and adhesive properties. At the recommended dosage, the herbicidal efficacy of fomesafen@SiO₂-starch microspheres against Brassica napus L. and Portulaca oleracea L. over 14 days was observed to be comparable to that of the fomesafen technical, concurrently exhibiting a degree of sustained release. These findings underscore the potential of microspheres in regulating the release of fomesafen, thereby presenting a promising avenue for the development of sustainable drug delivery systems in agriculture.