Academic literature on the topic 'Herbicides Environmental aspects Victoria'

It is often assumed that saline coastal wetlands experience environmental conditions so severe that they are largely immune to invasion by exotic plant species. The belief is implicit in many older reviews of threats to mangroves and coastal saltmarshes, where a limited range of vascular plant taxa, often focussing on *Spartina, (throughout the paper an asterisk denotes an introduced (exotic) species as per Carr 2012) have been invoked as the major species of concern. Even though the weed flora of southern Australia is derived largely from agriculture and horticulture, neither of which includes many species tolerant of waterlogged, variably saline environments, a recent assessment of Victorian saline coastal wetlands indicated that exotic plants were the third-most pervasive threat, after land ‘reclamation’ and grazing. Tall wheat grass, *Lophopyrum ponticum (Podp.) A.Love., is one of the most severe and widely distributed weeds of saline coastal wetlands in south-eastern Australia. It is promoted by the agricultural extension arm of the Victorian government as a salt-tolerant pasture grass; however, its broad ecological amplitude and robust life form make it a most serious invader of upper saltmarsh in Victoria. We assessed the effectiveness of different control measures, including slashing and herbicides, for the management of *L. ponticum infestations (and their side effects on saltmarsh communities) in the Western Port region of Victoria. A nominally monocot-specific herbicide widely used to control *Spartina, Fluazifop-P, was ineffective in controlling *L. ponticum. The broad-spectrum systemic herbicide glyphosate was more effective in controlling *L. ponticum, but had undesirable impacts on native plant species. Controlling weeds in coastal wetlands using available herbicides for use near coastal waterways would seem to remain problematic.

The world practice of using agrochemicals for long periods, in an indiscriminated and abusive way, has been a concern of the authorities involved in public health and sustainability of the natural resources, as a consequence of environmental contamination. Agrochemicals refer to a broad range of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides, and among them stands out atrazine, a herbicide intensively used in sugarcane, corn and sorghum cultures, among others. Researches have demonstrated that atrazine has toxic effects in algae, aquatic plants, aquatic insects, fishes and mammals. Due to the toxicity and persistence of atrazine in the environment, the search of microbial strains capable of degrading it is fundamental to the development of bioremediation processes, as corrective tools to solve the current problems of the irrational use of agrochemicals. This review relates the main microbial aspects and research on atrazine degradation by isolated microbial species and microbial consortia, as well as approaches on the development of techniques for microbial removal of atrazine in natural environments.

This paper explores some of the factors that may contribute to the sustainable use of water on irrigated dairy farms in Victoria, Australia. The paper begins with a discussion of the principles of sustainable water use as they would apply to dairy farms in the Gippsland region of Victoria. A series of indicators are used to link aspects of sustainable water use at a regional scale, and the observable trends are discussed. Of particular interest is the way that local river systems contribute to the dairy industry in this region and the aspects of dairying and other significant regional factors that may be impacting on the sustainability of river systems in this area. The indicators are structured and analysed using the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework developed by the OECD, most commonly used in State of the Environment reporting. The trends highlighted by the indicator set are discussed in terms of the implications that current patterns of water use may have for possible shifts towards more sustainable water use on individual dairy farms in Gippsland.

ELISAs for pesticides and herbicides in environmental and agricultural samples are becoming very important in screening applications [1-3]. Traditional chromatographic methods are expensive and results need long turnaround times, making them incompatible with rapid on-site decision making. ELISA methods have been shown to meet or exceed the performance of gas chromatography—they offer rapid low-cost analysis, thereby increasing the frequency of sampling and enhancing data quality. Automated ELISA workstations allow the full benefit of these kits to be realized. Sample preparation, reagent pipetting, incubation, and photometric evaluation can be performed without user intervention. Reliability is increased through the elimination of operator error, better accuracy and precision, and often higher speed. Much larger batch sizes are possible and these systems can provide sample tracking with report generation for documentation requirements. In this paper the manual procedures and ELISA methods are compared and some critical aspects of automating these ELISA kits are discussed.

Highlights of a multidisciplinary research program on innovative weed control are presented and discussed in this paper. The program was carried out from 1999 to 2002, and dovetailed most fundamental-strategic and applied research aspects in The Netherlands in that period with respect to weed management. The program was focused on both developing and implementing sustainable weed control strategies for agricultural and non-agricultural areas. Some projects in the program were on (1) developing and improving weed preventive and non-chemical methods, (2) methods that allow the farmer to apply lower dosage of herbicides than indicated on the label, e.g. the so-called “Minimum Lethal Herbicide Dose method” (MLHD), and (3) rational weed control on hard surfaces. The main results of these projects are presented. A successful development and implementation of new methods and systems of weed control that use considerably less herbicides, is determined by many factors. The role that these success factors played in the aforementioned projects is shortly discussed.

Moringa oleifera Lam. (moringa hereafter) is cultivated as a new summer super-forage field crop in Israel, yet no weed control protocol has been developed for it. The objective of the study was to develop an integrated weed management (IWM) practice for the moringa agro-system in arid and semi-arid regions like the Mediterranean basin. We tested various herbicides applied pre (PRE) and post (POST) crop emergence and cultivation methods for weed control, with an emphasis on crop safety. The PRE herbicides were the most effective and safe control mean. Their application resulted in minor (<5%) crop fresh weight reductions and weed cover area, compared with the control. The POST herbicides were also effective, yet their crop safety level was lower and non-consistent in some treatments. Generally, the finger weeder was less effective than the herbicide treatments and caused higher fresh weight reduction. However, this means was more effective when applied at earlier stages. Management and environmental conditions had a high impact on the moringa growth; hence, these aspects should be considered. Our results show the potential use of different herbicides and non-chemical tools and set the basis for a future IWM protocol for moringa. The wide range of options offered here can ensure economic and environmentally viable solutions for this new crop.

Electrochemical sensors and biosensors are analytical tools, which are in continuous development with the aim of generating new analytical devices which are more reliable, cheaper, faster, sensitive, selective, and robust than others. In matrices related to agroalimentary, environmental, or health systems, natural or synthetic compounds occur which fulfil specific roles; some of them (such as mycotoxins or herbicides) may possess harmful properties, and others (such as antioxidants) beneficial ones. This imposes a challenge to develop new tools and analytical methodologies for their detection and quantification. This review summarises different aspects related to the development of electrochemical sensors and biosensors carried out in Argentina in the last ten years for application in agroalimentary, environmental, and health fields. The discussion focuses on the construction and development of electroanalytical methodologies for the determination of mycotoxins, herbicides, and natural and synthetic antioxidants. Studies based on the use of different electrode materials modified with micro/nanostructures, functional groups, and biomolecules, complemented by the use of chemometric tools, are explored. Results of the latest reports from research groups in Argentina are presented. The main goals are highlighted.

Abstract A survey was conducted in the Kwara State of Nigeria to study the integrated weed management (IWM) practices by farmers. This was in view of the poor weed management practices adopted by farmers, which is a major factor responsible for low yields of many arable crops in Kwara State. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 480 respondents, and a structured interview schedule was used to elicit information from them. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Factor analysis was also carried out to examine the perception of farmers’ benefits of IWM. Results showed that the majority of farmers (29.4%) were youths, married (89.1%), and involved in medium-scale farming (47.2%). Furthermore, 50.8% of the farmers had primary or secondary education. Although farmers use different weed control methods, more than half of them (54.7%) use herbicides. Most farmers (92.6%) are engaged in the use of IWM, However, 73.5% of them use a combination of herbicides and hoe weeding. Although not properly practiced, farmers perceived IWM as having socio-environmental (29.229%) and techno-efficacious (23.495%) benefits over either hoe weeding or herbicides used alone. The findings suggest a need to train farmers on all aspects of IWM to achieve self-sufficiency in food production in Kwara State.

In many countries around the world, municipal sewage and industrial wastewaters are typically treated, or sometimes only partially treated, prior to their discharge into surface waters. A major anionic surfactant, Linear Alkyl benzene Sulfonate (LAS), and a degraded product of a non-ionic surfactant, Nonylphenol (NP), are frequently found in municipal wastewaters. When wastewater containing such surfactants and their degraded products is used for irrigation, it can have an effect on the sorption/desorption and movement of pesticides in soils. Therefore, a lysimeter study was conducted, in summer 2004, to assess the effect of LAS and NP on the movement of agricultural herbicides through a sandy loam soil. The degradation of the herbicides was studied in lysimeters over a ninety-day period. Irrigation water with a concentration of 12 mg L -1 of LAS and NP was used to assess their effect on the leaching of atrazine, metolachlor, and metribuzin. Moreover, a laboratory sorption experiment was undertaken to estimate the partition coefficients (kd) of the three herbicides with water containing the same concentrations of LAS and NP. Irrigation water containing low concentrations of surfactants (LAS and NP) did not increase leaching of the three herbicides. Therefore, these results would reduce the concerns regarding pesticide leaching through sandy soil brought on by LAS and NP in wastewaters for irrigation, which is becoming more important due to increasing water scarcity in the dry climate regions of the world.
Beside the lysimeter study, mathematical models can be used effectively and economically in a very short period of time for simulating herbicide concentrations into soil. PESTFADE, a one dimensional transient flow model, was used, in this study, to simulate the fate of the three herbicides in sandy soils. Another model, Artificial Neural Network (ANN), was also used over mathematical modeling due to its faster execution period and less input parameter requirements, for predicting the concentrations of the three herbicides in a sandy loam soil. The predicted concentrations, from both models were compared with the experimental results from the lysimeter study. Although slight overestimations and underestimations were observed, both models simulated herbicide concentrations in the soil profile satisfactorily.

Although the use of pesticides is necessary to meet the socio-economic needs of many developing countries, especially in Africa, side effects of these bio-active chemicals have contributed to contaminating aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Environmental water quality degradation by pesticides interferes with ecosystem health and poses numerous risks to aquatic life. In South Africa, glyphosate-based herbicides are frequently used to control weeds and invading alien plants, but ultimately end up in freshwater ecosystems. However, there are no South African-based environmental water quality management strategies to regulate these bio-active chemicals. Therefore, this study sought to provide a sound scientific background for the environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa, by conducting both laboratory and field investigations. In the laboratory investigations, aquatic ecotoxicological methods were used to evaluate responses of the freshwater aquatic shrimp Caridina nilotica exposed to Roundup® at different biological system scales, and the responses of multiple South African aquatic species exposed to Roundup® through species sensitivity distribution (SSD). In the field investigations, the effect of Kilo Max WSG on the physicochemical and biological conditions of three selected sites in the Swartkops River before and after a spray episode by Working for Water were evaluated through biomonitoring, using the South African Scoring System version 5 (SASS5) as a sampling protocol. Both Roundup® and Kilo Max WSG are glyphosate-based herbicides. All the data were subjected to relevant statistical analyses. Findings of this study revealed that Roundup® elicited responses at different biological system scales in C. nilotica, while SSD estimates were used to derive proposed water quality guidelines for glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa. The biomonitoring revealed that using glyphosate-based herbicides to control water hyacinth within the Swartkops River had a negligible impact on the physicochemical and biological conditions. Based on these findings, a conceptual framework that can be used for the integrated environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa was developed as part of integrated water resource management (IWRM). The combined data sets contribute to a sound scientific basis for the environmental water quality management of glyphosate-based herbicides in South Africa.

The state of the environment is increasingly present as an urgent concern for contemporary political, social, cultural and physical life. Yet the roles of the mass media (radio, television and newspapers) in shaping and influencing crucial public awareness, debates and environmental decision-making remain inadequately understood. Positioned as a critical studies inquiry into media representations and audience reception, this study forms part of a wider project amongst media scholars and culture critics on the relationship between media textual production and consumption. It explores how one radio station in Uganda, Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) radio, represents and constructs the environmental crises faced by Lake Victoria, especially pollution and overfishing. The focus is on the Victoria Voice radio documentaries aired on CBS radio in the year 2005. The study further explores how three lakeside communities negotiate these issues as radio broadcasts. It recognises that while the mass media contribute significantly to creating public awareness about such social concerns, their likelihood of having a direct and predictable impact on social behaviour is slight. The context and the lived experiences at the reception stage where the decisions are made on whether to adopt an innovation are ultimately the factors which impact on how they are negotiated. The thesis is informed by the theoretical and analytical framework of Cultural Studies as well as the Participatory Approach to Communication for Development perspectives. The study is specifically informed by the theories of ‘discourse’ (Foucault, 1980a, 1981) and the ‘circuit of culture’ (du Gay et al., 1997 and Johnson, 1987) and these provided the conceptual framework for investigating the representations, the production and the consumption of media texts. Predominantly qualitative methods have been employed in data collection and analysis. In the first place, a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough, 1995a, 1995c) of the radio texts has interrogated the discourses and discursive practices of CBS’ Victoria Voice environmental radio programmes in order to consider its representations of particular issues and consequently the discourses it privileged. Qualitative methods of participant observation, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were deployed to investigate the negotiation of the texts by the lakeside communities. This research establishes that the Victoria Voice radio texts foreground three contesting types of discourses: the discourse of basic economic survival and livelihoods is articulated largely by the ordinary people, the lakeside communities; the discourse of sustainable development, particularly the protection and sustainability of Lake Victoria, by scientists and environmental experts; and the discourse of modernisation and corporate investment by politicians and/or policy makers and industrialists. The texts, to a large degree, reaffirm the hegemonic relations of power in Ugandan society, and thus contribute to the maintenance of the status quo. The selection of an elite category of informers (scientists, experts, politicians, policy makers) serves to marginalise the less powerful ordinary people (the fisher folk, farmers and other eyewitnesses). The construction of the elite as active and speaking subjects within the various debates introduced in these programmes, for example, works both to obscure and endorse the unequal power relations. At the reception side, while the lakeside communities attest to the relevance of the programmes in providing information on the issues concerning Lake Victoria and other aspects of their livelihood, they also recognise the power relations that underpin the sets of representations. Amongst these sets is government’s complicity with industry, in line with their economic policies and the global capitalist economy, while espousing the rhetoric of nature conservation. The study argues that sustainable solutions for the crises on Lake Victoria should take into account the socio-historical and cultural contexts of the lakeside communities. For the Ugandan media, particularly radio, there is a need to rethink the nature of the coverage, which tends to neglect the contextual factors, such as local socio-economic and cultural factors within which environmental issues and problems occur and which, as this thesis establishes, greatly influences the way people make sense of environmental issues and problems. I posit that the Participatory Approach that seeks to address the communities’ most pressing concerns should be adopted – to include more of the communities’ voices and involve them in the production of radio programmes.

A leaching study was undertaken with $ sp{14}$C radio-labelled atrazine in long, intact, soil columns to investigate the fate and transport of atrazine in a Quebec sandy loam soil and to test two contaminant transport models, namely PRZM and LEACHMP.
Results indicated a large variation in atrazine concentration. The maximum levels in the leachate of the soil columns ranged from 0 to 11.2 $ mu$g/L. Deisopropyl-atrazine, the principal metabolite in the soil columns, was detected near the soil surface and did not leach beyond 15 cm depth. The adsorptive and desorptive capacity of atrazine in the soil columns was mainly attributed to organic matter and moisture content.
LEACHMP was found to be superior in predicting hydrologic characteristics in the soil columns as compared to PRZM which required calibration. Both models underestimated levels of atrazine near the soil surface and in the leachate (115 cm depth). The results from first and second order analysis for PRZM and LEACHMP showed considerable uncertainty in atrazine fate and transport. First and second order analyses were found to be useful tools in indicating where efforts to reduce uncertainty can best be directed.

A field study was undertaken during the growing seasons of 1988 and 1989 to investigate leaching characteristics of metolachlor, atrazine and two atrazine metabolites in two agricultural soils of Quebec, namely a sand and a loam field. In both years, atrazine was detected in higher levels in the groundwater of the loam field than of the sand field. Deethylatrazine was the only metabolite found in any significant quantity in soil in 1988 and in groundwater in 1989. Deisopropylatrazine was detected in groundwater at the beginning and at the end of the 1988 season and levels were similar in both fields. Metolach or was never detected in groundwater.
GLEAMS predictions favourably compared to field results at the 0-20 cm depth in both years. Half-life, however, had to be reduced by half in 1989 since higher temperature had increased dissipation. GLEAMS has not predicted leaching past 20 cm in either field in 1988 and 1989. During a dry summer, such as 1988 and 1989, leaching is mostly due to macropore flow and desorption of residues, two processes which are difficult to predict with existing models.

Subirrigation systems are generally used in humid areas to provide suitable moisture conditions for plant growth. These systems can also be used to reduce pesticide loadings from agricultural lands, since they tend to keep the discharging waters within farm boundaries for extended periods of time. This allows for greater pesticide microbial and chemical degradation.
A three-year field lysimeter study was initiated to investigate the role of subirrigation systems in reducing the risk of water pollution from the three most commonly used herbicides in Quebec, namely atrazine (2-chloro-4[ethylamino]-6[isopropylamino]-1,3,5-triazine), metribuzin (4-am ino-6(1,1-di meth yl eth yl)-3-(meth yl thio)-1,2,4-tria zin-5(4H)-one), and meto lach lor (2-chlo ro-N-(2-eth yl-6-methyl phen yl)-N-(2-meth oxy-1-meth yl eth yl)acet amide). Eighteen PVC lysimeters, 1 m tall x 0.45 m diameter, were packed with a sandy soil. Three water table management treatments, i.e. two subirrigation treatments with constant water table depths of 0.4 and 0.8 m, respectively, and a free drainage treatment in a completely randomized design with three replicates were used. Grain corn (Zea mays L.) and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) were grown on lysimeters, and herbicides were applied each year at the locally recommended rates at the beginning of each summer. Soil and water samples were collected at different time intervals after each natural or simulated rainfall event. Herbicides were extracted from soil and water samples and were analyzed using Gas Chromatography.
From the three years results (1993--1995), it has been concluded that all three herbicides were quite mobile in this sandy soil, as they leached to the 0.85 m depth below the soil surface quite early in the growing season. This suggests that if the drainage effluent or seeping waters from sandy soils of agricultural lands in southern Quebec drain freely, they may be considered to be a serious non-point source of pollution to the water bodies. The results have also shown that herbicide concentration decreased with soil depth as well as with time, meaning that the higher herbicide residues were found at top layers, and soon after the herbicide application. The herbicide mass balance study revealed that when the drainage effluent was kept within the lysimeters under the subirrigation setup, there was a statistically significant reduction of atrazine and metribuzin residues (shorter half lives) in the adsorbed and liquid phases. However, the reduction in metolachlor concentration under the subirrigation system was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that subirrigation, combined with certain herbicides can significantly reduce the herbicide loadings from corn and potato farms in southwestern Quebec, and become environmentally beneficial.
A computer simulation model (PRZM2), was used to simulate atrazine, metribuzin, and metolachlor leaching in the lysimeters, under subsurface drainage conditions. The simulated values for all three chemicals in most of the cases followed the leaching pattern of observed data. But the model either under- or over-estimated the herbicide concentrations in the soil. This could have been caused by simplistic instantaneous linear adsorption/desorption of herbicides, and inadequacy of conventional Darcian approach for the treatment of matrix flow.

Thesis (MScAgric)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a grass herbicide, a broadleaf herbicide with some grass control capabilities, method of tillage (tine and no-tillage) at planting of wheat as well as different medic cultivars on the regeneration, dry matter (OM) production and quality of a medic pasture. The trial was conducted at Langgewens experimental farm in the Swartland wheat producing area. Nine medic cultivars of three different species were evaluated after being sprayed with either haloxyfop-R-methyl (HAL) ester or imazamox (IMI) and subjected to either a tine tillage or a no tillage treatment at planting of wheat. Soil samples were taken during January 2000 to determine the size of the medic and weed seedbank as well as the degree of dormancy in the medic seeds, while OM samples were taken throughout the growing season to determine the OM production of the different medic cultivars and weed species. OM samples taken during October 1998 on the same pasture, were used to determine the crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fibre (NOF) content of the pasture. The samples were subjected to in vitro digestion and the digestibility of pasture CP (OCP), NOF(ONOF) and DM (DOM)were determined. Results showed that seedling establishment differed between cultivars used, herbicide treatments applied as well as the crop stage in the rotation. The cultivars produced more seedlings where IMI was applied compared to HAL as well as where the area consisted of two year pasture compared to one year pasture (1998) and one year wheat (1999). After a year of pasture and a year of wheat, cultivars Sephi and Paraggio produced the most seedlings, while Caliph and Orion produced the least. Caliph however, showed a very high degree of seed dormancy while Orion's low seedling establishment was due to its sensitivity to the IMI herbicide used. Little difference was found between the nine cultivars early in the season (July - August) with regard to cumulative OM production, except for Orion, whose growth was severely damaged by the IMI treatment. At the end of the growing season (October), the cultivar Caliph's cumulative OM production (2010.1 kg/ha) was significantly higher than all the other cultivars, except for Parabinga (1053. 4 kg/ha). Oifferent pasture samples, of which the botanical composition was known, was analysed for CP, NOF, OOM, OCP and ONOF. There was no significant difference in pasture composition during 1998 but variation in the pasture composition did however cause the IMI treatment, compared to the HAL treatment, to have a lower ONOFand OOMcontent. A modelling procedure was used to predict the pasture quality parameters (CP, NOF, OOM,OCP and ONOF) from the pasture composition (medic hay, medic pods, grassy and broadleaf weeds). This prediction of CP, NOF, OOM, ONOF and OCP from the pasture components had a relative low accuracy (49 -74.1 %) and a further refinement of this model for possible use on farms in order to improve grazing management and animal production is advised. In conclusion it could be said that broadleaf weed control caused a definite increase in medic seed and OMproduction, but Orion should not be used with an IMI herbicide. All the cultivars, except for Orion, produced enough seedlings up to the second year to ensure sustainability of the medic pasture. All the cultivars, except for Orion, produced a sufficient amount of OM early in the growing season. Caliph however, produced by far the most OM later in the growing season. A reduction of broadleaf weeds and medic pods will increase the digestibility of NOFand OMand therefore increase the quality of the pasture. Pods however are an important part of summer forage and the aim should therefore rather be to reduce the number of broadleaf weeds in the pasture.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om die effek van 'n gras en breëblaar onkruiddoder (wat sekere grasse beheer), metode van bewerking tydens die saai van koring asook nege verskillende medic kultivars op die regenerasie, droë materiaal produksie en kwaliteit van medic weidings te bepaal. Die proef is gedoen op Langgewens proefplaas wat geleë is in die Swartland koring produserende gebied. Nege medic kultivars is geëvalueer nadat die weiding met of haloxyfop-R-metiel ester (HAL) of imazamox (IMI) onkruiddoders gespuit is en onderwerp is aan of 'n vlak tand of geen bewerking tydens die saai van koring. Grondmonsters is geneem in Januarie 2000 om die grootte van die medic en onkruid saadbank asook om die graad van dormansie in die verskillende medic kultivars se sade te bepaal. Droë materiaal monsters is gedurende die 2000 groeiseisoen geneem om die droë materiaal produksie van die verskillende medic kultivars asook onkruid spesies te bepaal. Droë materiaal monsters is gedurende Oktober 1998 geneem en gebruik om die ruproteïn (CP) en neutraaloplosbare vesel (NDF) inhoud van die weiding te bepaal. Die monsters is in vitro verteer en die verteerbaarheid van CP (OCP), NDF (ONOF) en droë materiaal (DOM) is bepaal. Resultate wys dat saailing vestiging verskil tussen die verskillende kultivars wat gebruik is, verskillende onkruiddoder behandelings asook die stadium van die weidings/koring. Die kultivars het meer geproduseer waar die weiding met IMI behandel is in vergelyking met waar HAL toegedien is, asook waar koring nog nie gesaai is nie. Na 'n jaar van weiding en 'n jaar van koring, het die kultivars Sephi en Paraggio die meeste saailinge, en Caliph en Orion die minste saailinge gehad. Caliph het egter 'n hoë graad van dormansie in sy saad getoon, terwyl die swak vestiging van Orion die gevolg is van die kultivar se hoë sensitiwiteit teenoor IMI. Min verskil is gevind tussen die nege kultivars, vroeg in die groei seisoen (Julie - Augustus), wat kumulatiewe droë materiaal produksie betref, behalwe vir Orion wat erg beskadig is deur die IMI behandeling. Aan die einde van die groeiseisoen (Oktober 2000) was die kumulatiewe droë materiaal produksie van die kultivar Caliph (2010.1 kg/ha) betekenisvol hoër as al die ander kultivars behalwe vir Parabinga (1053.4 kg/ha). Weidingsmonsters, waarvan die botaniese samestelling bekend was, is ontleed vir CP, NDF, DDM, DCP en DNDF. Daar is geen betekenisvolle verskille gevind in die botaniese samestelling van die weidingmonsters geneem in 1998 nie,maar die variasie in botaniese samestelling het veroorsaak dat IMI in vergelyking met HAL 'n laer DNDF and DDM inhoud het. 'n Model is opgestel wat die weidingskomponente (medic hooi, medic peule, gras en breëblaar onkruide) gebruik om die kwaliteits parameters (CP, NDF, DDM, DCP en DNDF) van die weiding te skat. Hierdie skatting van CP, NDF, DDM, DCP en DNDF deur van die weidingskomponente gebruik te maak het 'n relatiewe lae akuraatheid gehad (49 -74.1 %) en verdere verfyning van hierdie model vir moontlike gebruik op plase, ten einde weidings bestuur en diere produksie te verbeter, word voorgestel. Die gevolgtrekking kan gemaak word dat breëblaar onkruidbeheer 'n definitiewe verbetering in die medic saailing en droë materiaal produksie van die medies te weeg gebring het, maar die kultivar Orion behoort nie saam met 'n IMI gebruik te word nie. AI die getoetste kultivars, behalwe Orion, het voldoende saad oorlewing vertoon tot en met die tweede jaar van die rotasie om lewensvatbaarheid van die sisteem te verseker en alle kultivars, behalwe Orion, het voldoende droë materiaal produseer vroeg in die groeiseisoen. Caliph het egter laat in die groeiseisoen by verre die meeste droë materiaal geproduseer. 'n Vermindering in die hoeveelheid breëblaar onkruide en peule in die weiding sal tot 'n verhoging in die verteerbaarheid van NDF en DM lei en dus 'n verhoging in die kwaliteit van die weiding tot gevolg hê. Peule is egter 'n belangrike bron van voedsel aan weidende diere gedurende droë somermaande en die verbetering van weidings moet eerder gedoen word deur te poog om breëblaar onkruide te beheer.

Abstract Gene flow from genetically modified (GM) plants is concerning because of its ecological risks. In modeling studies, these risks may be reduced by altering crop management while taking environmental conditions into account. Gene flow modeling should consider many field aspects, both biological and physical. For example, empirical statistical models deduced from experimental data simulate gene flow well only under limited conditions (similar to experimental conditions). Mechanistic models, however, offer a potentially greater predictive ability. Gene flow models from GM crops to non-GM crops are used to simulate field conditions and minimize the adventitious presence of transgenes to meet certain threshold levels. These models can be adapted to simulate gene flow from GM crops to crop wild relatives using parameters of sexual compatibility and growth characteristics of the wild plants. Currently, modeling gene flow from herbicide-resistant weeds has become very important in light of the increased application of herbicides and widely evolved resistance in weeds.

Although herbicides are designed to remove or control weeds, pollution of water ecosystems with herbicides could have adverse effects on aquatic animals such as fish. The effect of herbicides on nontarget organisms may be different than expected, as herbicides may interact with another environmental contaminant. Since there are different contaminants in the water, fish may live in the cocktail of xenobiotics, including herbicides. Therefore, herbicides alone and in combination with other pollutants could affect fish physiology. Thus, the interaction of environmental contaminants with pesticides may create a situation in which a chemical affects the activity of a pesticide; that is, its effects increase or decrease or produce a new effect that neither of them creates on its own. These interactions may occur due to accidental misuse or lack of knowledge about the active ingredients in the relevant materials. This study aimed to review the effects of herbicides alone and in combination with other xenobiotics on various aspects of fish biology. In this study, different biomarkers were reviewed in fish exposed to herbicides.

Agriculture is one of the significant factors contributing to the economic growth of India. In order to reap a better harvest, farmers inoculate the soil with fertilizers. These fertilizers include pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc., and are broadly used to control pests and pest-induced diseases. Increasingly high inputs of chemical fertilizers have not only left soils degraded, but it has also increased the adverse effect on aquatic life and other environmental hazards. Organic farming methods would crack these issues and make the ecosystem healthier. Bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides form a link between the biotic and abiotic factors and can be used to supplement the expensive chemical fertilizers. This chapter focuses on agricultural chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) that impact the aquatic environment. The aim of the chapter is to improve ecological sustainability and to minimize the effects of pesticides on aquatic ecosystems. In addition, the authors attempt to reveal almost all positive aspects of organic farming in special reference to aquatic pollution.

Due to rivalry resulting from the exploitation of natural resources such as soil and water by other production and development businesses, strengthening aquaculture has emerged as an alternative to boosting aquatic production. However, enhanced waste disposal from aquaculture production systems is required for resilience, as is extra inclusion, such as fish and food, in each cultural region. Polluted aquatic animal products have sparked public outrage and jeopardised the long-term viability of aquaculture operations. The need to boost aquatic product output cannot be overstated, and as a result, cultural systems must be developed that will increase fish production through effective waste management, reducing environmental deterioration caused by marine pollution and ensuring its sustainability. This paper examined the various aspects of waste production from aquaculture, including its sources, components, and management practises in various cultural systems, with a focus on waste production from food, feedstuffs, fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, and other sources, as well as to identify waste sources, content, and potential hazards to both fish culture and the environment. To ensure the development of enhanced and sustainable aquatic animals, waste management proposals in diverse cultural systems were produced.

Atrazine is a broadly used herbicide in agriculture and it was used here as a model to study the biodegradation of herbicides. The bacterium Pseudomonas sp. ADP metabolizes atrazine to carbon dioxide and ammonia and chloride. The genes encoding atrazine catabolism to cyanuric acid were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The genes were designated atzA, atzB and atzC. Each gene was sequenced. The enzyme activities were characterized. AtzA is atrazine chlorohydrolase which takes atrazine to hydroxyatrizine. AtzB is hydroxyatrazine N-ethylaminohydrolase which produces N-isopropylammelide and N-ethylamine. AtzC is N-isopropylammelide N-isopropylaminohydrolase which produces cyanuric acid and N-isopropylamine. Each product was isolated and characterized to confirm their identity by chromatography and mass spectrometry. Sequence analysis indicated that each of the hydrolytic enzymes AtzA, AtzB and AtzC share identity which the aminohydrolase protein superfamily. Atrazine chlorohydrolase was purified to homogeneity. It was shown to have a kcat of 11 s-1 and a KM of 150 uM. It was shown to require a metal ion, either Fe(II), Mn(II) or Co(II), for activity. The atzA, atzB and atzC genes were shown to reside on a broad-host range plasmid in Pseudomonas sp. ADP. Six other recently isolated atrazine-degrading bacteria obtained from Europe and the United States contained homologs to the atz genes identified in Pseudomonas sp. ADP. The identity of the sequences were very high, being greater than 98% in all pairwise comparisons. This indicates that many atrazine-degrading bacteria worldwide metabolize atrazine via a pathway that proceeds through hydroxyatrazine, a metabolite which is non-phytotoxic and non-toxic to mammals. Enzymes were immobilized and used for degradation of atrazine in aqueous phases. The in-depth understanding of the genomics and biochemistry of the atrazine mineralization pathway enabled us to study factors affecting the prevalence of atrazine degradation in various agricultural soils under conservative and new agricultural practices. Moreover, Pseudomonas sp. ADP and/or its enzymes were added to atrazine-contaminated soils, aquifers and industrial wastewater to increase the rate and extent of atrazine biodegradation above that of untreated environments. Our studies enhance the ability to control the fate of regularly introduced pesticides in agriculture, or to reduce the environmental impact of unintentional releases.