Carbendazim residues in vegetables in China between 2014 and 2016 and a chronic carbendazim exposure risk assessment

Silver-Nanocellulose Composite Used as SERS Substrate for Detecting Carbendazim

Nanocellulose is an abundant green resource that, owing to the larger surface area, length, and diameter of the fibers, can be used as a framework for loading Ag nanoparticles and serve as substrate for surface enhancement Raman scattering (SERS). These properties would cause the hydroxyl groups on the surface to adsorb the Ag ions and reduce them to Ag seed to form a load fulcrum. This paper presents a convenient and environmentally friendly method for the fabrication of silver-nanocellulose composites (NCF-Ag). A commonly used pesticide, carbendazim (CBZ), was used as a SERS probe to evaluate the properties of NCF-Ag. The results showed that NCF-Ag possesses good homogeneity, reproducibility, and stability. Additionally, CBZ was found to have a low limit of detection (LOD), i.e., 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ M, which indicates the possibility for trace analysis. Furthermore, it presents good linearity with R² = 0.98 at 1007 and 1270 cm⁻¹ in the range from 10⁻⁴~10⁻⁷ M CBZ.

Antifungal Metabolite p-Aminobenzoic Acid (pABA): Mechanism of Action and Efficacy for the Biocontrol of Pear Bitter Rot Disease

Colletotrichum fructicola, a fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in pears, has recently emerged in Eastern Asia and caused enormous economic losses and crop penalties. For this reason, new strategies for the management of bitter rot disease are greatly needed and can have a great impact on the field. In this regard, our research group recently reported that p-aminobenzoic acid (pABA), which was found in the secretions of rhizobacterium Lysobacter antibioticus OH13, showed a broad spectrum of antifungal activities. Following this project, the antifungal mode of action of pABA has been elucidated in this work indicating that pABA affects the fungal cell cycle of C. fructicola by inhibiting septation during cell division. pABA stability and diffusion screening revealed that pABA degrades after 15 days and is able to cross the pear skin into the external parts of the mesocarp. In vivo studies demonstrated that pABA shows high curative ability against the infection of C. fructicola in pears. To show the efficacy of OH13 for the biocontrol of bitter rot disease, cultures of OH13 containing 379.4 mg/L pABA were sprayed on inoculated pears, significantly reducing the symptoms of the pathogen.