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Good Agricultural Practices: Application, Monitoring and Ecotoxicological Effects in Pesticide Use

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2024) | Viewed by 8169

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41522, Republic of Korea
Interests: environmental toxicology; biomarkers; omics; combined toxicities
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Guest Editor
School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Korea
Interests: multimedia monitoring and modeling; persistent organic pollutants (POPs); monitoring of hazardous air pollutants; fine particles; development of response system for chemical accidents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Plant Life and Environmental Science, Hankyong National University, Ansung 456-749, Korea
Interests: pesticide analysis; analytical instruments; foods chromatography; natural products analysis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent studies have shown that pesticides are widespread in soil and aquatic ecosystems due to their extensive use for agricultural and hygiene purposes. Increasing concerns regarding the use of pesticides has led to the suggestion that ‘good agricultural practices’ be adopted by pesticide users, including farmers, to protect customers from the negative effects of pesticides, which inhibit the normal health functions of both invertebrates and vertebrates, including humans. Analytical protocols and eco-toxicity assessments after pesticide use should be conducted and new strategies should be developed to determine the presence of pesticides and their metabolites to ensure that they are not persistent in agricultural commodities.

It is necessary to measure residual pesticide contents and understand their maximum residual levels in agricultural commodities; it is also necessary to monitor the bioavailability of pesticides in living organisms. Risk analysis is necessary to ensure environmental health and safeguard the human consumption of agricultural commodities in general. Therefore, we need to understand the input and distribution of pesticides in agricultural soils, agricultural waters, and crops, as well as their toxic effects in terrestrial and aquatic organisms in agricultural environments. Since pesticide metabolic pathways contribute to a reduction in or activation of pesticide toxic effects on the biochemical and molecular biological levels, data on the metabolic fates of pesticides are also needed for pesticide-treated soils and agricultural commodities.

Recent omics studies will help us understand how pesticides disturb terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Omics studies can develop efficient strategies for finding biomarkers to determine soil quality and the health status of terrestrial and aquatic animals in agricultural environments. In the interest of promoting safe agricultural commodities, we need to reduce pesticide use while gathering information on these particular concerns.

We invite researchers from all over the world to contribute their original research and reviews concerning how the GAP system efficiently controls the adverse effects of pesticides. These articles may also monitor pesticides in agricultural soil and waterways, including their harmful effects on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. We are particularly interested in articles describing how omics monitor the presence of pesticides in living organisms and the environment. Articles or reviews describing methods to monitor pesticides from the agricultural soil and aquatic environment using advanced ELISA technologies are also welcome.

Potential topics can include, but are not limited to:

  • Monitoring pesticides in agricultural soils and waterways.
  • Monitoring pesticides in agricultural commodities and crops.
  • Advanced analytical methods to detect pesticides in various matrices, including soil and aquatic environments.
  • The development of biomarkers to understand pesticides’ adverse effects in terrestrial and aquatic organisms.
  • Omics studies to develop biomarkers to monitor how pesticides remain in soil and aquatic environments.
  • Environmental fate of pesticides in soil and aquatic environments, including crops.
  • Environmental risk assessments related to pesticides in soil and aquatic ecosystems.

Prof. Dr. Sung-Eun Lee
Prof. Dr. Sung-Deuk Choi
Prof. Dr. Joon-Kwan Moon
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3070 KiB  
Article
The Efficacy, Phytotoxicity, and Safety of Liquid Ethyl Formate Used to Control the Grape (Campbell Early) Quarantine Pest Pseudococcus comstocki
by Byung-Ho Lee, Ki-Jeong Hong and Min-Goo Park
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(19), 9769; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12199769 - 28 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1706
Abstract
Mealybugs found on grapes during quarantine in Korea are fumigated with methyl bromide (MB). However, MB is an ozone-depleting, highly toxic pesticide; therefore, the International Plant Protection Convention, a representative organization involved in quarantine, recommends using MB alternatives. We evaluated the feasibility of [...] Read more.
Mealybugs found on grapes during quarantine in Korea are fumigated with methyl bromide (MB). However, MB is an ozone-depleting, highly toxic pesticide; therefore, the International Plant Protection Convention, a representative organization involved in quarantine, recommends using MB alternatives. We evaluated the feasibility of using liquid ethyl formate (EF), a new EF formulation, to control mealybugs (Pseudococcus comstocki) on grapes (Campbell Early). Large-scale tests and the comparative evaluation of EF and MB desorption from grapes were conducted during the simulated 72-h post-fumigation period. Dose–response tests showed that the EF concentration and time product causing 99% mortality (LCt99) at 5 °C was 47.36 and 145.85 g h/m3 for adults and eggs, respectively. EF treatment at 70 g/m3 for 4 h at 5 °C with a loading ratio of 10% achieved an LCt99 of 145.85 g h/m3 on P. comstocki, confirming EF efficacy on mealybugs without phytotoxic effects on grapes. EF fumigation may also be safer because EF concentrations were maintained at less than 100 ppm, the specified exposure limit of EF; meanwhile, those of MB were higher than the exposure limit (1 ppm). Therefore, liquid EF can be used as a safer alternative to MB in phytosanitary treatments of grapes to control P. comstocki. Full article
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17 pages, 2536 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Risk Derived from Exposure to Pesticides in Corn Producers in Tlaxcala, Mexico
by Antonio Rivera, Lilia Cedillo Ramírez, Conrado Parraguirre Lezama, Alfredo Baez Simon, Beatriz Laug Garcia and Omar Romero-Arenas
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(18), 9050; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189050 - 8 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1974
Abstract
Corn cultivation represents the largest type of agricultural production in Mexico, with great economic, social, and cultural importance. The health of corn producers could be compromised by the extensive and accumulated use of pesticides. The effects of pesticides in terms of their cytotoxic [...] Read more.
Corn cultivation represents the largest type of agricultural production in Mexico, with great economic, social, and cultural importance. The health of corn producers could be compromised by the extensive and accumulated use of pesticides. The effects of pesticides in terms of their cytotoxic and genotoxic damage in two groups of peasant maize producers in Tlaxcala, Mexico, were considered here. The buccal micronucleus cytome assay was used as an indicator of cytotoxicity and genotoxicity, along with nuclear abnormalities present in farmers who had used pesticides in the last thirty years. In total, 21 commercial products used in corn production were identified, mainly herbicides belonging to the chlorophenoxy, triazine, and organophosphate compounds; in addition, it was observed that a small group of farmers use the active ingredient carbofuran, as well as insecticides and fungicides. The results show that farmers with higher pesticide use present higher rates of cytotoxic and genotoxic damage compared to the group of producers with higher incidence rates of agroecological practices and lower rates of pesticide use, as revealed by the micronucleus assay, as well as by nuclear abnormalities present in the epithelial cells of the buccal mucosa. The agroecological farmer group used only herbicides, with the 2,4-D (Hierbamina) being the greatest use in maize cultivation. Full article
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8 pages, 255 KiB  
Article
Phosphine Fumigation Followed by Cold Treatment to Control Peach Fruit Moth, Carposina sasakii, Larvae on “Fuji” Apples Intended for Export
by Bong-Su Kim, Ki-Jeong Hong, Tae-Hyung Kwon, Kyeong-Yeoll Lee, Byung-Ho Lee and Sung-Eun Lee
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(15), 7514; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157514 - 26 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1752
Abstract
The fumigation of apples using methyl bromide (MeBr) can cause severe deterioration in fruit quality. Moreover, maintaining the quality of apples during postharvest storage and eradicating pests, especially those involved in quarantine issues, are important for facilitating the export of apples, including the [...] Read more.
The fumigation of apples using methyl bromide (MeBr) can cause severe deterioration in fruit quality. Moreover, maintaining the quality of apples during postharvest storage and eradicating pests, especially those involved in quarantine issues, are important for facilitating the export of apples, including the “Fuji” apple (Malus pumila var. “Fuji”) in South Korea. In the present study, phosphine (PH3) fumigation as an alternative to MeBr was found to be more effective for the control of peach fruit moth larvae (Carposina sasakii), which had naturally infested Fuji apples, at a high temperature (25 °C) rather than at a low temperature (5 °C). To achieve the industry requirement of better-quality perishable commodities and meet quarantine guidelines for export, PH3 fumigation at the low temperature (5 °C) was followed by cold treatments at 3 ± 2 °C for 2 and 4 weeks, which led to higher efficacy than was achieved using PH3 at 5 °C alone. Given that chemical treatments, such as treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene, can inhibit ethylene synthesis, low-temperature PH3 fumigation for 72 h followed by 4 weeks of cold treatment could also extend the shelf life of apples and resolve known quarantine issues when used as an alternative to MeBr treatment. Full article
9 pages, 560 KiB  
Article
Ethyl Formate-Based Quarantine Treatment for Exotic Ants and Termites in Imported Rubber Plants and Stone Products
by Dongbin Kim, Tae Hyung Kwon, Min-Goo Park, Kyung Won Kim, Dong H. Cha and Byung-Ho Lee
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(12), 6066; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12126066 - 15 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1716
Abstract
Exotic ants and termites, including Solenopsis invicta, are frequent hitchhikers intercepted from miscellaneous nonfood commodities. In particular, S. invicta has been intercepted in Korea in imported nursery plants, stone, and lumber products, which increases the potential for establishment of this destructive invasive pest [...] Read more.
Exotic ants and termites, including Solenopsis invicta, are frequent hitchhikers intercepted from miscellaneous nonfood commodities. In particular, S. invicta has been intercepted in Korea in imported nursery plants, stone, and lumber products, which increases the potential for establishment of this destructive invasive pest in Korea. In this study, we conducted commercial-scale fumigation trials to evaluate ethyl formate (EF) as a potential alternative of methyl bromide using two species of imported rubber plants and pieces of marble as representative good and workers of Reticulitermes speratus as an EF-resistant surrogate for S. invicta. An EF treatment at 35 g/m3 for 4 h at >15 °C, the dose required for LCt99% (lethal concentration × time product required for 99% mortality of R. speratus), resulted in the complete control of R. speratus workers tested with rubber plants (Ficus benghalensis and F. retusa) and marble, 9% (w/v) and 60% (v/v) loading ratios, respectively. EF treatment did not adversely affect the leaf chlorophyll content, leaf color, and overall health of rubber plants or the visual appearance of the marble. Our results suggest that EF fumigation is a potential alternative to methyl bromide for the disinfestation of hitchhiking invasive termites and ants, including S. invicta, on imported rubber plants and stone products. Full article
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