Impact of percentage and particle size of sugarcane biochar on the sorption behavior of clomazone in Red Latosol.

Biochar is a carbonaceous material that has excellent potential as a fertilizer and soil conditioner. However, there is a lack of information concerning the effects of the amount and particle size of this pyrogenic material on the soil sorption capacity. In this work, evaluation was made of changes in clomazone (CMZ) sorption in a Red Latosol following soil conditioning using different percentages (0.25, 0.5, and 1% w/w) of sugarcane biochar in three particle sizes (<106, 106-508, and 508-610 µm). The conditioned soils presented apparent sorption coefficients (Kd) up to 1300 times higher than that of pure soil, besides changes in the behavior of CMZ sorption. The biochar particle size and percentage influenced sorption of the herbicide as well as its retention in the amended soil during desorption processes. Both sorption and desorption Freundlich constants were linearly correlated with the external surface area of the biochar present in the soil.

A new spectrophotometric method for determination of EDTA in water using its complex with Mn(III).

EDTA is an important ligand used in many industrial products as well as in agriculture, where it is employed to assist in phytoextraction procedures and the absorption of nutrients by plants. Due to its intensive use and recalcitrance, it is now considered an emerging pollutant in water, so there is great interest in techniques suitable for its monitoring. This work proposes a method based on formation of the Mn(III)-EDTA complex after oxidation of the Mn(II)-EDTA complex by PbO2 immobilized on cyanoacrylate spheres. A design of experiments (DOE) based on the Doehlert matrix was used to determine the optimum conditions of the method, and the influence of the variables was evaluated using a multiple linear regression (MLR) model. The optimized method presented a linear response in the range from 0.77 to 100.0µmolL(-1), with analytical sensitivity of 7.7×10(3)Lmol(-1), a coefficient of determination of 0.999, and a limit of detection of 0.23µmolL(-1). The method was applied using samples fortified at different concentration levels, and the recoveries achieved were between 97.0 and 104.9%.

Aqueous ozone solutions for pesticide removal from potatoes.

The presence of pesticide residues in potatoes is of concern because of the potential impact to human health due to the high consumption of this vegetable. In this study, aqueous solutions with and without ozone saturation as postharvest wash treatment at pH 4.0, 7.0, and 9.0 were tested to remove chlorothalonil from potatoes. The method used for pesticide analysis has been validated, presenting recovery values of 94-103%, with variations in the repeatability coefficients of ≤10.6%, and a quantification limit of 0.05 mg kg-1 Regardless of pH, treatment with aqueous ozone solutions removed 70-76% of the pesticide present in the potato. In the no-ozone treatments, the percentage average removal of chlorothalonil residues in potatoes was only 36%. Over 24 days of storage, the quality of potatoes washed with aqueous ozone solutions was not significantly different from those washed with pure water.

Leaching and persistence of ametryn and atrazine in red-yellow latosol.

This study evaluated the mobility and persistence of atrazine and ametryn in red-yellow latosols using polyvinyl chloride columns with a diameter of 100 mm and a height of 15 cm. The assays simulated 60-mm rainfall events at 10-day intervals for 70 days. The persistence and leaching were evaluated for these two herbicides. The analytes obtained from the samples were quantified by gas chromatography using flame ionization detection. Compared with ametryn, atrazine showed a greater potential to reach depths below 15 cm over 30 days of simulated rain. Ametryn, however, showed greater persistence in soil at 70 days after application. The persistence of atrazine and ametryn in soil under sunlight was 10 and 144 days respectively. Atrazine was more susceptible to sunlight than ametryn because sunlight favored atrazine degradation in hydroxyatrazine. The results indicate that in red-yellow latosol, atrazine has a high leaching potential in short term, but that ametryn is more persistent and has a high leaching potential in long term.

Determination of pesticides in lettuce using solid-liquid extraction with low temperature partitioning.

This work describes the optimization and validation of a method employing solid-liquid extraction with low temperature partitioning (SLE/LTP) together with analysis by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC/ECD) for the determination of nine pesticides (chlorothalonil, methyl parathion, procymidone, endosulfan, iprodione, λ-cyhalothrin, permethrin, cypermethrin, and deltamethrin) in lettuce. The method was found to be selective, accurate, and precise, with means recovery values in the range of 72.3-103.2%, coefficients of variation ⩽ 12%, and detection limits in the range 0.4-37 µg kg(-1). The matrix components significantly influence the chromatographic response of the analytes (above 10%). The optimized and validated method was applied to determine the residual concentrations of the fungicides iprodione and procymidone that had been applied to field crops of lettuce. The maximum residual concentrations of the pesticides in the lettuce samples were 13.6 ± 0.4 mg kg(-1) (iprodione) and 1.00 ± 0.01 mg kg(-1) (procymidone), on the day after application of the products.

Mobility and persistence of the herbicide fomesafen in soils cultivated with bean plants using SLE/LTP and HPLC/DAD.

A method has been optimized and validated for the determination of fomesafen in soils using solid-liquid extraction with low-temperature partitioning (SLE/LTP) and analysis by liquid chromatography with a high-efficiency diode array detector (HPLC/DAD). The method was used to evaluate the persistence and mobility of this herbicide in different soils cultivated with bean plants. Recovery values were ≥98.9 %, with variations in the repeatability coefficients of ≤15 %, and a detection limit of 7.3 µg kg(-1). Half-life values of fomesafen were between 60 and 71 days in soil cultivated using a no-till system and 99 and 114 days in soil cultivated using a conventional tillage system. The mobility of fomesafen was moderate and mainly influenced by the organic matter content, pH, and soil type. In Red-Yellow Argisol, which has a higher content of organic matter, the leaching of fomesafen was less pronounced. In Red-Yellow Latosol, which has smaller amounts of organic matter and high pH, the leaching of fomesafen was more pronounced.