The use of nanotechnology to suppress crop diseases has attracted increasing attention in agriculture. The present work investigated the antifungal efficacy of copper oxide nanoparticle (CuO ...NP)-embedded hydrogels, which were synthesized by loading CuO nanoparticles (NPs) in hydrogels formed from cross-linked interaction between chitosan and acrylic acid, against Fusarium wilt of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae. In comparison with CuO NPs, 7-day Cu dissolution from CuO NP-embedded hydrogels was 34.2–94.8% slower regardless of media type, including water, potato dextrose broth, or a soil extract. In a greenhouse study, upon exposure to CuO NP-embedded hydrogels, CuO NPs, or Kocide 3000 with equivalent amounts of Cu (31 mg/kg), the fresh shoot biomass was significantly increased by 40.5, 26.1 and 27.2%, respectively, as compared to that of the infected control. Notably, CuO NP-embedded hydrogels enhanced uptake of P, Mn, Zn, and Mg and increased the levels of organic acids as compared to the diseased control. Increased salicylic acid (SA) and decreased jasmonic acid (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) levels with the addition of different forms of Cu may have enhanced disease resistance. Taken together, our findings provide useful information and approach for improving the delivery efficiency of agrichemicals via nanoenabled strategies and an advanced understanding of plant defense mechanisms triggered by Cu-based NPs.
This study evaluated the effects of ZnO nanoparticles (NP) or Zn salt amendment on sorghum yield, macronutrient use efficiency, and grain Zn-enrichment. Amendments were through soil and foliar ...pathways, under “low” and “high” levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK). In soil and foliar amendments, grain yield was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased by both Zn types, albeit insignificantly with soil-applied Zn at low NPK. Across NPK levels and Zn exposure pathways, both Zn types increased N and K accumulation relative to control plants. Compared to N and K, both Zn types had a mixed effect on P accumulation, depending on NPK level and Zn exposure pathway, and permitted greater soil P retention. Both Zn types significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased grain Zn content, irrespective of exposure pathway. These findings suggest a nanoenabled strategy for enhancing crop productivity, grain nutritional quality, and N use efficiency based on Zn micronutrient amendments, with potential implications for improved human and environmental health.
In agriculture, loss of crop yield to pathogen damage seriously threatens efforts to achieve global food security. In the present work, “organic” elemental sulfur nanoparticles (SNPs) were ...investigated for management of the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on tomatoes. Foliar application and seed treatment with SNPs (30–100 mg/L, 30 and 100 nm) suppressed pathogen infection in tomatoes, in a concentration- and size-dependent fashion in a greenhouse experiment. Foliar application with 1 mg/plant of 30 nm SNPs (30-SNPs) exhibited the best performance for disease suppression, significantly decreasing disease incidence by 47.6% and increasing tomato shoot biomass by 55.6% after 10 weeks application. Importantly, the disease control efficacy with 30-SNPs was 1.43-fold greater than the commercially available fungicide hymexazol. Mechanistically, 30-SNPs activated the salicylic acid-dependent systemic acquired resistance pathway in tomato shoots and roots, with subsequent upregulation of the expression of pathogenesis-related and antioxidase-related genes (upregulated by 11–352%) and enhancement of the activity and content of disease-related biomolecules (enhanced by 5–49%). In addition, transmission electron microscopy imaging shows that SNPs were distributed in the tomato stem and directly inactivated in vivo pathogens. The oxidative stress in tomato shoots and roots, the root plasma membrane damage, and the growth of the pathogen in stem were all significantly decreased by SNPs. The findings highlight the significant potential of SNPs as an eco-friendly and sustainable crop protection strategy.
Cellulosic pads, amended with emulsions containing essential oils of thyme and oregano, exhibited antimicrobial activity against the psychrophilic microbiota of minced beef. In addition, the pads ...were active against specific meat bacterial species (Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas fragi, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Enterococcus faecalis and Lactococcus lactis) and some common foodborne pathogens (Salmonella enterica, Campylobacter jejuni and Staphylococcus aureus). Three emulsions, IT131017, Mediterranean and Etnic, containing different percentages of carvacrol, thymol, linalool, and ɑ and β-pinene, significantly reduced the growth of S. enterica and P. putida. Pads derived from emulsions Mediterranean and Etnic induced slight (0.3–0.8 Log10 CFUs/g) but reproducible reduction of the psychrophilic microbiota in minced meat and hamburger stored for 12 and 15 days at 4 °C.
•Cellulosic pads with EOs of thyme and oregano are active against meat microrganisms.•Meat packaged with above pads is acceptable at sensory test.•Pads reduce of 0.3–0.8 Log10 psychrophilic microrganisms in packaged meat.
Projected population increases over the next 30 years have elevated the need to develop novel agricultural technologies to dramatically increase crop yield, particularly under conditions of high ...pathogen pressure. In this study, silica nanoparticles (NPs) with tunable dissolution rates were synthesized and applied to watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) to enhance plant growth while mitigating development of the Fusarium wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum. The hydrolysis rates of the silica particles were controlled by the degree of condensation or the catalytic activity of aminosilane. The results demonstrate that the plants treated with fast dissolving NPs maintained or increased biomass whereas the particle-free plants had a 34% decrease in biomass. Further, higher silicon concentrations were measured in root parts when the plants were treated with fast dissolving NPs, indicating effective silicic acid delivery. In a follow-up field study over 2.5 months, the fast dissolving NP treatment enhanced fruit yield by 81.5% in comparison to untreated plants. These findings indicate that the colloidal behavior of designed nanoparticles can be critical to nanoparticle-plant interactions, leading to disease suppression and plant health as part of a novel strategy for nanoenabled agriculture.
Phytoviruses are highly destructive plant pathogens, causing significant agricultural losses due to their genomic diversity, rapid, and dynamic evolution, and the general inadequacy of management ...options. Although an increasing number of studies are being published demonstrating the efficacy of engineered nanomaterials to treat a range of plant pathogens, very little work has been done with phytoviruses. Herein, we describe the emerging field of “Nanophytovirology” as a potential management approach to combat plant viral diseases. Because of their special physiochemical properties, nanoparticles (NPs) can interact with viruses, their vectors, and the host plants in a variety of specific and useful ways. We specifically describe the potential mechanisms underlying NPs–plant–virus interactions and explore the antiviral role of NPs. We discuss the limited literature, as well as the challenges and research gaps that are instrumental to the successful development of a nanotechnology-based, multidisciplinary approach for timely detection, treatment, and prevention of viral diseases.
Metal hyperaccumulating plant species are an interesting example of natural selection and environmental adaptation but they may also be useful to developing new technologies of environmental ...monitoring and remediation. Noccaea caerulescens and Arabidopsis halleri are both Brassicaceae and are known metal hyperaccumulators. This study evaluated tolerance, uptake and translocation of zinc sulfide quantum dots by N. cearulescens and cadmium sulfide quantum dots by A. halleri in direct comparison with the non-hyperaccumulator, genetically similar T. perfoliatum and A. thaliana. Growth media were supplied with two different concentrations of metal in either salt (ZnSO4 and CdSO4) or nanoscale form (ZnS QDs and CdS QDs). After 30 days of exposure, the concentration of metals in the soil, roots and leaves was determined. Uptake and localization of the metal in both nanoscale and non-nanoscale form inside plant tissues was investigated by Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) equipped with an X-ray probe. Specifically, the hyperaccumulators in comparison with the non-hyperaccumulators accumulate ionic and nanoscale Zn and Cd in the aerial parts with a BCF ratio of 45.9 for Zn ion, 49.6 for nanoscale Zn, 2.64 for Cd ion and 2.54 for nanoscale Cd. Results obtained with a differential extraction analytical procedure also showed that a significant fraction of nanoscale metals remained inside the plants in a form compatible with the retention of at least a partial initial structure. The molecular consequences of the hyperaccumulation of nanoscale materials are discussed considering data obtained with hyperaccumulation of ionic metal. This is the first report of conventional hyperaccumulating plants demonstrating an ability to hyperaccumulate also engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) and suggests a potential novel strategy for not only understanding plant-nanomaterial interactions but also for potential biomonitoring in the environment to avoid their entering into the food chains.
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•Here is a first evidence plants hyperaccumulating ENP (Zn QDs and Cd QDs).•This occurs in medium supplemented with non-toxic amounts of ENP without significant disrupting of ENP.•Hyperaccumulation of ENP was showed by BCF and TF similar when to those from Zn and Cd salts.•Hyperaccumulation of ENP may involve their biotransformation with formation of ionic metal but a portion of ENP remains.•This constitute new possibilities of searching for Zn and Cd ENP hyperaccumulator with greater phytoremediation potential.
This study explored the use of foliar sprays with nanoparticles (NP) of B, CuO, MnO, SiO, TiO, and ZnO to protect watermelon against Fusarium wilt. Leaves of young watermelon plants were sprayed (1 ...to 2 ml per plant) with NP suspensions (500 to 1,000 µg/ml) and were planted in potting mix infested with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum. In five of eight greenhouse experiments, CuO NP suppressed disease and, in six of eight experiments, CuO NP increased biomass or yield more than in untreated controls or other tested NP. More root Cu was detected in CuO NP-treated plants than other treatments (P = 0.015). In Griswold, CT, plants treated with CuO NP yielded 39% more fruit than untreated controls. In Hamden, CT, treatment with CuO NP produced 53% more fruit when compared with controls (P = 0.02) and was superior to other Cu fungicides. Gene expression in watermelon roots revealed strong upregulation of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and PR1 genes when CuO NP and F. oxysporum f. sp. niveum were both present. Enzymatic assays for PPO supported the gene expression results. CuO NP may serve as a highly effective delivery agent for this micronutrient to suppress disease.
Due to their well-known antifungal activity, the intentional use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as sustainable nanofungicides is expected to increase in agriculture. However, the impacts of AgNPs on ...plants must be critically evaluated to guarantee their safe use in food production. In this study, 4-week-old cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants received a foliar application of AgNPs (4 or 40 mg/plant) or Ag+ (0.04 or 0.4 mg/plant) for 7 days. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS)=based nontarget metabolomics enabled the identification and quantification of 268 metabolites in cucumber leaves. Multivariate analysis revealed that all the treatments significantly altered the metabolite profile. Exposure to AgNPs resulted in metabolic reprogramming, including activation of antioxidant defense systems (upregulation of phenolic compounds) and downregulation of photosynthesis (upregulation of phytol). Additionally, AgNPs enhanced respiration (upregulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates), inhibited photorespiration (downregulation of glycine/serine ratio), altered membrane properties (upregulation of pentadecanoic and arachidonic acids, downregulation of linoleic and linolenic acids), and reduced inorganic nitrogen fixation (downregulation of glutamine and asparagine). Although Ag ions induced some of the same metabolic changes, alterations in the levels of carbazole, lactulose, raffinose, citraconic acid, lactamide, acetanilide, and p-benzoquinone were AgNP-specific. The results of this study offer new insight into the molecular mechanisms by which cucumber responds to AgNP exposure and provide important information to support the sustainable use of AgNPs in agriculture.
Analysis of municipal wastewater for drug metabolites can reveal the scale of drug use within communities. An Australian city with a population of 1.2million inhabitants was assessed for 4 ...stimulants: cocaine, methamphetamine, 3.4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and amphetamine; 6 opioids: codeine, morphine, heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone and methadone; 11 new psychoactive substances (NPS); benzylpiperazine (BZP), trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP), methcathinone, methylone, mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), alpha pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA), 25C-NBOMe, 25B-NBOMe, 25I-NBOMe; and cannabis, for up to four years between December 2011 and December 2015. Temporal trends revealed increasing usage rates of methamphetamine, cocaine, oxycodone, and fentanyl, while decreasing rates of use were observed for MDMA, BZP and methylone. Use of other opioids and cannabis was generally stable across years, while use of new psychoactive substances fluctuated without an apparent direction. Opioids and cannabis were used at a consistent level through the course of the week, while use of stimulants and some NPS increased on the weekend. Seasonal differences in use were observed for MDMA and cannabis (p$_amp_$lt;0.05) where, on average, MDMA use was approximately 90% higher in December than in other months and cannabis use was approximately 45% lower in each February. Residual month-to-month variability measures on trend-free data showed NPS use had higher variability than the stimulants and opioids. Frequent wastewater sampling and analysis over prolonged periods has yielded valuable insights into long-term drug use trends, in some instances revealed important within-year trends, and demonstrated the differing patterns of use of drugs on weekends compared to weekdays.
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•Wastewater was analysed bimonthly over four years to assess trends in drug use.•Strongest long-term trends were increasing use of oxycodone and methamphetamine.•Drugs such as MDMA, cannabis, morphine and heroin were either stable or decreasing.•Use peaked on weekends for some drugs while others were constant over the week.•Cannabis use was seasonal, in a manner consistent with the plant maturation cycle.
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