Maleic hydrazide residues in tobacco and their toxicological implications

Real-Time Monitoring of Translocation, Dissipation, and Cumulative Risk of Maleic Hydrazide in Potato Plants and Tubers by Ion Exclusion Chromatography

In this paper, a high-performance ion exclusion chromatographic (ICE) method was developed and applied for monitoring maleic hydrazide (MH) translocation in complex potato plant tissue and tuber matrices. After middle leaf uptake, most MH was trapped and dissipated in the middle leaf, and the rest was transported to other parts mainly through the phloem. Soil absorption significantly reduced the uptake efficiency of the root system, in which MH was partitioned to dissipate in root protoplasts or transfer through the xylem and persisted in the plant. Tuber uptake enabled MH to remain in the flesh and maintain stable levels under storage conditions, but during germination, MH was translocated from the flesh to the growing buds, where it dissipated through the short-day photoperiodic regime. The results demonstrated successful application of the ICE method and provided necessary insights for real-time monitoring of MH translocation behavior to effectively improve potato edible safety.

The Herbicidal Potential of Different Pelargonic Acid Products and Essential Oils against Several Important Weed Species

There is growing consideration among farmers and researchers regarding the development of natural herbicides providing sufficient levels of weed control. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of four different pelargonic acid products, three essential oils and two natural products’ mixtures against L. rigidum Gaud., A. sterilis L. and G. aparine L. Regarding grass weeds, it was noticed at 7 days after treatment that PA3 treatment (pelargonic acid 3.102% w/v + maleic hydrazide 0.459% w/v) was the least efficient treatment against L. rigidum and A. sterilis. The mixture of lemongrass oil and pelargonic acid resulted in 77% lower dry weight for L. rigidum in comparison to the control. Biomass reduction reached the level of 90% as compared to the control in the case of manuka oil and the efficacy of manuka oil and pelargonic acid mixture was similar. For sterile oat, weed biomass was recorded between 31% and 33% of the control for lemongrass oil, pine oil, PA1 (pelargonic acid 18.67% + maleic hydrazide 3%) and PA4 (pelargonic acid 18.67%) treatments. In addition, the mixture of manuka oil and pelargonic acid reduced weed biomass by 96% as compared to the control. Regarding the broadleaf species G. aparine, PA4 and PA1 treatments provided a 96–97% dry weight reduction compared to the corresponding value recorded for the untreated plants. PA2 (pelargonic acid 50% w/v) treatment and the mixture of manuka oil and pelargonic acid completely eliminated cleaver plants. The observations made for weed dry weight on the species level were similar to those made regarding plant height values recorded for each species. Further research is needed to study more natural substances and optimize the use of natural herbicides as well as natural herbicides’ mixtures in weed management strategies under different soil and climatic conditions.

The Influence of the Plant Growth Regulator Maleic Hydrazide on Egyptian Broomrape Early Developmental Stages and Its Control Efficacy in Tomato under Greenhouse and Field Conditions

Broomrapes (Phelipanche spp. and Orobanche spp.) are holoparasitic plants that cause tremendous losses of agricultural crops worldwide. Broomrape control is extremely difficult and only amino acid biosynthesis-inhibiting herbicides present an acceptable control level. It is expected that broomrape resistance to these herbicides is not long in coming. Our objective was to develop a broomrape control system in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) based on the plant growth regulator maleic hydrazide (MH). Petri-dish and polyethylene-bag system experiments revealed that MH has a slight inhibitory effect on Phelipanche aegyptiaca seed germination but is a potent inhibitor of the first stages of parasitism, namely attachment and the tubercle stage. MH phytotoxicity toward tomato and its P. aegyptiaca-control efficacy were tested in greenhouse experiments. MH was applied at 25, 50, 75, 150, 300, and 600 g a.i. ha-1 to tomato foliage grown in P. aegyptiaca-infested soil at 200 growing degree days (GDD) and again at 400 GDD. The treatments had no influence on tomato foliage or root dry weight. The total number of P. aegyptiaca attachments counted on the roots of the treated plants was significantly lower at 75 g a.i. ha-1 and also at higher MH rates. Phelipanche aegyptiaca biomass was close to zero at rates of 150, 300, and 600 g a.i. ha-1 MH. Field experiments were conducted to optimize the rate, timing and number of MH applications. Two application sequences gave superior results, both with five split applications applied at 100, 200, 400, 700, and 1000 GDD: (a) constant rate of 400 g a.i. ha-1; (b) first two applications at 270 g a.i. ha-1 and the next three applications at 540 g a.i. ha-1. Based on the results of this study, MH was registered for use in Israel in 2013 with the specified protocol and today, it is widely used by most Israeli tomato growers.

RNA-sequencing Reveals Global Transcriptomic Changes in Nicotiana tabacum Responding to Topping and Treatment of Axillary-shoot Control Chemicals

Removal of terminal buds (topping) and control of the formation of axillary shoots (suckers) are common agronomic practices that significantly impact the yield and quality of various crop plants. Application of chemicals (suckercides) to plants following topping is an effective method for sucker control. However, our current knowledge of the influence of topping, and subsequent suckercide applications, to gene expression is limited. We analyzed the differential gene expression using RNA-sequencing in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) that are topped, or treated after topping by two different suckercides, the contact-localized-systemic, Flupro(®) (FP), and contact, Off-Shoot-T(®). Among the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 179 were identified as common to all three conditions. DEGs, largely related to wounding, phytohormone metabolism and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, exhibited significant upregulation following topping, and downregulation after suckercide treatments. DEGs related to photosynthetic processes were repressed following topping and suckercide treatments. Moreover, topping and FP-treatment affect the expression of auxin and cytokinin signaling pathway genes that are possibly involved in axillary shoot formation. Our results provide insights into the global change of plant gene expression in response to topping and suckercide treatments. The regulatory elements of topping-inducible genes are potentially useful for the development of a chemical-free sucker control system.