The primary objective of this research project is to develop a system for precision spraying of herbicides in a corn field. Ultimately, such a system would permit real-time image collection, processing, weed identification, mapping of weed density and sprayer control using a tractor-mounted digital camera and on-board computer. The initial hypotheses underlying this project were (1) that it is possible to train an artificial neural network (ANN) to distinguish weeds from a crop species (corn in this study); (2) that it is possible to differentiate between weed species; and (3) that precision spraying can significantly reduce the quantity of herbicide needed to protect crop yields, thus reducing both the costs and environmental impacts of such applications. Thus, development of an ANN for this purpose was the main focus of the research project. / Since the success of ANN development is primarily dependent on the type of information that it is provided, much of the work involved investigation of different approaches to extracting information from the digital images of field sections and individual objects (weeds or corn plants), as well as analysis of the type of information extracted. The applicability of a given image processing method was evaluated in terms of the image recognition accuracy, as well as the computer time and memory requirements for processing and obtaining ANN output, since speed is of the essence in real-time applications. The greenness method based on a pixel-by-pixel analysis of red-green-blue intensity value of the original images was the most successful and was used in further work. / As it turned out, ANN development for this purpose was difficult. While the success rate for recognition of corn plants was high (80% or greater), the success rate for recognition of weeds tended to be low. Improvements in weed recognition were met with decreases in the success rate of corn recognition. Differentiation between weed species was less than desirable. Differentiation between corn and a given weed species was also not as good, particularly when the weed species was similar in appearance to the young corn plant. / Therefore, another strategy was developed to recognize weeds in the field by taking images between the corn rows. Previously, the images were taken randomly in the field. The images were processed to obtain percent greenness in each image and this information was used to create weed coverage and weed patchiness maps. Based on these maps, herbicide spraying was decided and spraying amounts were determined. In terms of real-time, it was possible to process the equivalent of one metre of row per second. Although this is slow compared to tractor speed in the field, the computer was not operating under dedicated conditions as one would require for the real-time application. Thus, the results were considered encouraging. / The final stage of the work involved an evaluation of the potential herbicide savings from a precision spraying system. This was done by using the weed coverage and weed patchiness maps as inputs to a simulated fuzzy logic controller, and integrating the output of the controller over the field area corresponding to the input images. The simulations with different fuzzy rules and membership functions indicated that the precision spraying approach could reduce the amount of herbicide needed for weed control in a corn field by up to 15%.

In this study, the ability of various chemicals to be biotransformed into mutagens by plant cells was investigated. Two thiocarbamate herbicides, diallate and triallate, the sulfonylurea herbicide chlorsulfuron, and the aniline derivative m-phenylenediamine were tested for their ability to revert Salmonella typhimurium (strains TA100 and TA98) in the presence and absence of Nicotiana tabacum (TX1) cell cultures in liquid suspension. Chlorsulfuron and m-phenylenediamine were also tested in the presence and absence of Brassica napus cv. 'Topas' cells. Diallate was found to be activated by TX1 cells into a mutagen that induces base-pair substitution mutations. In the presence of the TX1 plant cell line, chlorsulfuron significantly increased the number of mutations on the strain TA98 of Salmonella. Tobacco TX1 cells did not activate triallate into a mutagen. m-Phenylenediamine was activated into a mutagen by TX1 and Brassica cells as detected by Salmonella TA98. This aniline derivative, in the absence of plant cells and at concentrations higher than 20 $ mu$ Moles/plate, was also able to significantly increase the number of TA98 revertants as compared to the control plants. Finally, Brassica napus cells activated chlorsulfuron into a mutagen that induces frameshift mutations.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

Cyperus rotundus L. CYPRO (purple nutsedge) and Cyperus esculentus L. CYPES (yellow nutsedge) are problematic weeds on every continent. At present there is no comprehensive means of controling these weeds.. The primary means of control is herbicides, although the weeds are becoming more resistant. Bioherbicide control of purple and yellow nutsedge is an important avenue of research, with much of the focus being to increase the virulence of current fungal pathogens of C. rotundus and C. esculentus. The primary aim of this study was to increase the virulence of a fungal pathogen of C. rotundus and C. esculentus, with the objective of creating a viable bioherbicide. A possible means of increasing the virulence of a pathogen would be to increase the amount of amino acid produced by the fungus. This was proposed as a means of increasing the virulence of Dactylaria higginsii (Luttrell) M. B. Ellis. Overproduction of amino acids such as valine and leucine result in the feedback-inhibition of acetolactate synthase (ALS), an enzyme which is a target for many herbicides currently on the market. By applying various amino acids to tubers of purple nutsedge and comparing the results with a reputable herbicide, glyphosate, it was possible to determine the success of the amino acid applications. Only glutamine treatment at 600 mg.r1 resulted in significantly less (P<O.OOI) germination compared with the water control, while the glyphosate application resulted in no germination. Four treatments were significantly different (P<O.OOI) from the water control in terms of shoot length, but no pattern or conclusion could be drawn from the results. Injecting amino acids and glyphosate into the leaves of the plants gave similar results to those obtained with the tubers, with no visible damage on those plants injected with the amino acids and complete plant death of those injected with glyphosate. Amino acids had little effect on the growth of the C. rotundus plant or tuber. It was later determined by a colleague (Mchunu1 , unpublished) working on the same project, that D. higginsii does not infect the local ecotypes of C. rotundus in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. A second fungus, Cercospora caricis Oud., was isolated from C. rotundus growing in the region, and confirmed as a Cercospora species by conidial identification. Like many Cercospora species, C. caricis produces a phytotoxin, cercosporin. An increase in production of cercosporin would theoretically lead to an increase in virulence of C. caricis. Mutation of hyphae by i J Makhosi Mchunu: Address: National department ofAgriculture; Private Bag 3917; Port Elizabeth; 6056 Email: Makhosimc@NDA.agric.za ultraviolet-C light was perfected on C. penzigii Sacc., where 5 min exposure to DV-C light resulted in approximately 99% cell death. Surviving colonies were analysed by spectrophoresis, and the surviving mutant gave an absorbance value of approximately 5% more than the median. Samples were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine the presence of cercosporin. No definitive result was obtained. Exposure of C. caricis to DV-C for 5 min. resulted in approximately 65% hyphal cell death, with 20 min. resulting in approximately 95% death. A spontaneous mutant was observed in a colony that had been exposed to DV-C. This mutant showed sectored growth with red and grey growth patterns. The red section of the mutant was subcultured and analysed by spectrophoresis and HPLC. The red C. caricis gave an absorbance reading of approximately 140 on HPLC compared with about 22 from the grey colony. HPLC analysis of the wild-type C. caricis did not produce a peak corresponding to that of the cercosporin standard, although no conclusion could be obtained on the presence or absence ofthe toxin. The virulence of the mutant C. caricis could not be determined as inoculation experiments were unsuccessful, and had to be discontinued due to time constraints. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

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.

Increased amounts of pesticide production and application of pesticides for agriculture, plant protection and animal health has resulted in soil, water and air pollution, consequently relating a serious risk to the environment and also to human health. Pesticides include several groups of compounds, herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides and fumigants consisting of several hundred individual chemicals. Herbicides are an integral pan of modem agriculture and for industries requiring total vegetation control. Most herbicides are soil applied and more and more concern is raised that herbicides not only affect target organisms but also the microbial community present in soil. The ESKOM sub-station Zeus, in Mpumalanga (South Africa) used to apply an industrial weed control program for the eradication of vegetation, which led to the contamination of soil by several herbicides. These herbicides consisted of Bromacil, Tebuthiuron and Ethidimuron which are all photosynthesis inhibitors, more specifically, they disrupt the plastoquinone protein during electron transport at photosystem I1 (PSII). In this study the effect of biostimulation and bio-augmentation of a specific bioremediation agent (B350) as prescribed by ESKOM, on residual herbicides, Bromacil, Tebuthiuron and Ethidimuron was evaluated by monitoring the soil physical and chemical properties, microbial attributes, including potential microbial activity and community structure, as well as the physiological effect experienced by plants (Cynodoh dactylon and Zea mays). Results from soil physical and chemical analyses were correlated with results obtained for the functional and structural diversity of microbial communities. All results were investigated through statistical and multivariate analysis and the most prominent soil physical and chemical parameters that influence the biological and biochemical properties of the soil were identified. Results obtained from this study indicated that there were no significant difference (p < 0.05) between the treatments, with bioremediation agent, irradiated agent and without the agent based on results obtained from soil microbial properties and plant physiology. Before the trial started the uncontaminated soil showed an active microbial function, characterised by dehydrogenase, urease and arylsulphatase activity, but community structure was not very diverse. The contaminated soil, irradiated contaminated soil and silica sand showed less enzymatic function and was characterised by phospholipid fatty acid groups, mid-branched saturated fatty acids, terminally branched saturated fatty acids, normal saturated fatty acids and monosaturated fatty acids which are indicative of microorganisms that survive better in harsh environments. Three weeks after the addition of the specific bioremediation took place, the uncontaminated soil showed an increase in P-glucosidase activity and percentage organic carbon (%C), which could be a result of the presence of available plant material. Furthermore, an increase in major PLFA groups were seen, suggesting that an increase in diversity within the soil community occurred. The contaminated soil, irradiated contaminated soil and silica sand once again was characterised by a low microbial function and diversity, showing no improvement. Fluorescence data clearly show a decline in PS 11 function that result in the decline of the rate of photosynthesis, which was seen from COz gas exchange rates. Furthermore, the decrease in photosynthetic activity after three weeks was too severe to supply additional information about the mechanism within photosynthesis or the photoprotective mechanisms. A detailed study was conducted in which a 3: 1 dilution of contaminated soil with silica sand, was also monitored for changes within plant physiology. Results revealed that inhibition of PS I1 function already takes place within a few days time and the decline in photosynthesis is as a result of electron transport that does not supply adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and P-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADPH) to the Calvin cycle (or Reductive Pentose Phosphate pathway). It does not appear that rubulose-1,sbisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) is affected within the Calvin cycle. As a result of PS I1 function failure, reaction centres are damaged by the production of harmful singlet oxygen and photoprotective mechanisms (xanthophyll cycle) can not be activated. Thus, except for dealing with ineffective electron transport, additional damage is caused to physiological functions. After six weeks a decrease in the estimated viable biomass for all growth mediums was found. Results of the of trans- to cis- monoenoic fatty acids and cyclopropyl fatty acids to their monoenoic precursors ratios indicated that the soil microbial community for the contaminated growth mediums, all experienced nutritional stress throughout this trail. The specific bioremediation agent (B350) used, seemed to have no effect on the microbial function and community structure within soil and as agent had no effect on the residual herbicides or the plant physiology which experienced an extreme decline in major metabolic functions. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2

Pollution of water by herbicides and heavy metals has caused world wide concern because of the adverse effects of these pollutants on the environment, humans and wildlife. This has resulted in tighter legislation being imposed on the levels of these pollutants in drinking water. For example, the European Union (EU) has set the legislation in the drinking water Directive Admissible Concentration for a single herbicide to a maximum of 0.1 ppb. Despite the tight environmental pollution controls, isolated cases of pollutants exceeding their limits are still encountered. This would suggest that research towards the efficient and effective removal of these pollutants will be an on-going process. In this study, sorption of copper and some selected herbicides e.g. atrazine, benazolin and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was undertaken on a conventional activated carbon and its modified series. A low level detection method was developed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and this system was used to quantify the sorption capacity of the herbicides. In order to understand the sorption mechanism of the targeted pollutants, physical and chemical characterisation of the adsorbents was undertaken using a variety of techniques. These include, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) method, pore size distribution and surface area measurements, elemental analysis, sodium capacity determination, zeta potential and pH titration. The sorption data were presented and analysed by conventional adsorption isotherms. Sorption of the herbicides was favoured on carbon samples with least oxygen content while the uptake of copper was strongest in oxidised carbons. Kinetic experimental data were analysed by a pseudo second order model and the Boyd kinetic model. Molecular structural configurations and the physico-chemical properties of the adsorbent played a crucial role in the sorption behaviour of the herbicides.

Bibliography: leaves 153-156. / ix, 156 p. : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis describes the experiments conducted to determine the mechanisms that cause the decline in shoot Zn concentration and the responses of the wheat plant to Zn deficiency and chlorosulfuron stress. Root tip extension is used as a measure of wheat root growth during exposure to the sulfonylurea herbicide chlorsulfuron. Wheat plants differing in Zn efficiency are grown in HEDTA chelate-buffered nutrient solution in controlled conditions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Plant Science, 1997

Bibliography: leaves 128-146. / x, 146 leaves : ill. (some col.), maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Study was undertaken to determine the occurence and species incidence of wild oats in a major cropping region of southern Australia. Population dynamic studies were undertaken at two sites to define the seed bank decline and emergence pattern of several wild oat populations over a three year period. Management studies were conducted to determine appropriate strategies for the control of wild oats in southern Australian farming systems. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dept. of Agronomy and Farming Systems, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy Campus, 1998

Bibliography: leaves 185-200. / xvi, 200 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / The herbicides norflurazon, oxadiazon, oxyfluoren, trifluralin and simazine used in South Australian viticulture were assessed for mobility and degradation through a combination of laboratory and field experiments. Sorption, leaching and dissipation rates were measured, as was presence in shallow groundwater. The fate of herbicides from vine to wine was also investigated, tests being conducted on herbicide residue in both white and red grapes and presence in wine. A proposal for good environmental management of herbicide use in vineyards to minimise the effects of herbicides was also developed. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Environmental Science and Management, 2000