Screening structure and predicting toxicity of pesticide adjuvants using molecular dynamics simulation and machine learning for minimizing environmental impacts.

Surfactants as synergistic agents are necessary to improve the stability and utilization of pesticides, while their use is often accompanied by unexpected release into the environment. However, there are no efficient strategies available for screening low-toxicity surfactants, and traditional toxicity studies rely on extensive experimentation which are not predictive. Herein, a commonly used agricultural adjuvant Triton X (TX) series was selected to study the function of amphipathic structure to their toxicity in zebrafish.

Promising Delivery Platform for Smart Pest Control with High Water-Retaining Capacity.

Hydrogels have been extensively used in agriculture to improve crop yields for their excellent properties. However, they are currently used either as pesticide delivery platforms or water retention agents alone; the combination of these two functions into one agricultural hydrogel formulation has never been reported, which is crucial to promote sustainable development in agriculture. Herein, using poly(β-cyclodextrin) and adamantane-grafted poly(acrylic acid) (PAA-Ada) as the host and guest, respectively, an easy operating, multi-responsive, and safer hydrogel delivery system for insecticides is fabricated by the host-guest interaction between cyclodextrin and adamantane, which can load uniformly dispersed insecticides (fipronil, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam) up to 60%.

The simple strategy to improve pesticide bioavailability and minimize environmental risk by effective and ecofriendly surfactants.

Low pesticide efficiency has caused serious environmental pollution and economic loss, which are closely related to each link in the targeted delivery of pesticides. However, the existing strategies for improving pesticide utilization rate are not comprehensive, and the regulation of foliar absorption and biological activity has been neglected. As surfactants are the most important agricultural synergists, the impact, wetting, adhesion, and leaf retention behaviors of pyraclostrobin (PYR) droplets containing the surfactant Triton X (TX) series on hydrophobic scallion leaf surfaces were studied.

Surface properties of Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) and the effect of their infestation on the surface properties of kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) hosts.

Background: The wettability of the target surfaces affects the wetting and deposition of pesticides on them. The properties of leaf surfaces change after infestation by Tetranychus urticae Koch. Studying the surface wettability of T.