Phytotoxic effect

M.p. I08-5 C. Ordinary DDT contains about 15% of the 2,4 -isomer, and is prepared from chloral, chlorobenzene and sulphuric acid. It is non-phytotoxic to most plants. It is a powerful and persistent insecticide, used most effectively to control mosquitoes in countries where malaria is a problem. It is stored in the bodies of animals and birds. 

Atmospheric Toxicity. The only known atmospheric toxicity effect of phthalates is the phytotoxicity arising from the use of DBP plasticized glazing bars in greenhouses. However, the higher phthalates such as DEHP are not phytotoxic. General atmospheric concentrations of phthalates are extremely low and it is concluded that they pose no risk to plants or animals. 

Aquatic toxicity is reported in mg/L for Pimepha/espromealas (fathead minnow), 69-h LC q 7650 (17) for Daphnia magna (water flea), 48-h EC q 3310 (18) for Mjriophjllum spicatum (water milfoil), phytotoxicity (EC q for growth) 5962 (19) and for Pana breviceps (frog), no observed effect concentration (NOEC) 400 (20). LC q and EC q are lethal and effect concentrations, respectively, for 50% of the subjects tested. 

The ECOTOXicology database is a source for locating single chemical toxicity data for aquatic life, terrestrial plants and wildlife. ECOTOX integrates three toxicology effects databases AQUIRE (aquatic life), PHYTOTOX (terrestrial plants), and TERRETOX (terrestrial wildlife). These databases were created by the U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development (ORD), and the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laborator) (NHEERL), Mid-Continent Ecology Division... 

These high levels were sporadic and transitory. However, some of them were high enough to have caused phytotoxicity, and more work needs to be done to establish whether herbicides are having adverse effects upon populations of aquatic plants in areas highlighted in this study. It should also be borne in mind that there may have been additive or synergistic effects caused by the combinations of herbicides found in these samples. For example, urea herbicides such as diuron and chlortoluron act upon photosynthesis by a common mechanism, so it seems likely that any effects upon aquatic plants will be additive. Similarly, simazine and atrazine share a common mechanism of action. 

The application of various antibiotics such as rifampicin/tetracycline (63), cefatoxime/trimethoprim (64), or bacteriostatic compounds such as Micropur (Roth, Karlsruhe, Germany) (65) used for root pretreatment or added to collection media is another strategy to prevent biodegradation during root exudate collection. However, depending on dosage and plant species, also phytotoxic effects of antibiotics have been reported (Table 3). Antibiotics in the soil environment... 

After a 4 h collection period Fe-PS uptake rates were determined as a parameter for putative phytotoxic effects of the antibiotica treatments, n.d. = not determined. 

The phytotoxic effect may be due to interference with chlorophyll production or other metabolic processes. The observations noted in Table VI suggest that there is some recovery at 7 days from the conditions described in Table V for 5 days. However, this is not the case, since the same chlorotic effect is noted for the new fronds which were the first to emerge early in the observation period. This indicates that the phenomenon is due to the growth of new fronds which have not yet been exposed to the test media. 

A large number of in vitro inhibitors of PAL are known, however, few of these effectively inhibit PAL activity in vivo without also causing phytotoxic effects unrelated to their effects on PAL. PAL inhibitors fall into four categories 1) PAL product-inhibitors such as t-cinnamic acid and p-coumaric acid (e.g. 35) ... 

AOPP and AOA inhibit transaminase enzymes (39, 44) and other pyridoxylphosphate-dependent enzymes, presumably by interference with the carbonyl group of pyridoxyl phosphate (45). They apparently inhibit PAL by interaction with the carbonyl-like group involved in catalysis by PAL (36). AOA is not an effective PAL inhibitor for in vivo studies because of its lack of specificity that results in a relatively high degree of phytotoxicity (e.g. 

With AOPP, the selectivity is reversed with the K for PAL being 1.4 nM and that for phenylalanine transaminase being 3 pM (48). Thus, AOPP can effectively block PAL activity in vivo without being strongly phytotoxic (e.g. 20, 32, 38). 

Many herbicides and other chemicals have been reported to influence levels of various phenolic compounds in higher plants by unknown mechanisms. It is unlikely that more than a few of these compounds have a primary influence on secondary phenolic compound synthesis. For instance, in our survey of the effects of 17 herbicides on anthocyanin accumulation, only glyphosate appeared to directly influence accumulation (31). The effects of several compounds on secondary phenolic compound production for which the mechanism of influence is unknown are summarized in Table II. A much longer list could be derived from the literature. Unfortunately, many of these compounds are phytotoxic or are known to have effects other than on secondary aromatic compound production. In most cases the effects on these compounds correlate well with extractable PAL activity (31, 71, 72, 73, 74) (Figure 5), even though they do not directly affect the enzyme. 

With the extraction procedure we employed (22), ferulic acid was isolated as the most inhibitory component in wheat straw. There could also be other unknown compounds in the straw which would not be evident with this procedure. In addition, we ignored the possible influence of toxin-producing microorganisms. Microorganisms may have influenced the phytotoxicity exhibited by the aqueous wheat extract in Table IX. Although the present study was not concerned with the phytotoxic effects of microbially decomposed wheat straw, an influence of microbial activity on ferulic acid phytotoxicity was observed. From the results shown in Table XI, it appears that the presence of the prickly sida seed carpel enhanced the inhibitory effects of ferulic acid. In addition to ferulic acid in test solutions containing prickly sida seeds with carpels, a second compound, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy styrene, was also found to be present. This compound is formed by the decarboxylation of ferulic acid and was produced by a bacterium present on the carpel of prickly sida seed. The decarboxylation of ferulic acid was detected in aqueous solutions of ferulic acid inoculated with the bacterium isolated from the carpels of prickly sida seed. No conversion occurred when the bacterium was not present. 

It is unlikely that any one particular compound could be responsible for reduced weed growth in no-till. Higher plants and microorganisms produce a myriad of phytotoxic substances. If these substances are present in the right combination and concentration, phytotoxic effects may be observed. With the proper choice and management of various cover crops and plant residues, it may be possible to supplement if not reduce the number and amount of... 

After use, herbicides decompose slowly, and so affect cultivated plants for many years. In 1990, investigations in many regions of the USSR detected herbicides phytotoxic effects, especially among the si/m-triazine class, on different cultivars in many varied situations [13]. These sym-triazine herbicides, such as protrazin, simazin, atrazine, metazin, and prometrin, were used in different oblasts of the Ukraine, Kirgizia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Moldavia in previous years, especially on corn. Residual herbicide aftereffects led to the suppression and death of crops such as winter wheat, oats, barley, rye, potatoes, beets and sugar beets, linen, onions, watermelons and other melons, and sunflowers. 

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