Mechanistic Model for Simulating Pesticide Uptake into Maize Pollen.
Rein A, Trapp S, Hammel K, Fantke P
Pollinators
Every bee that visits a corn tassel in a treated field is picking up whatever chemicals traveled from the soil into that pollen — and this model now lets researchers predict exactly which pesticides make that journey and how fast they disappear.
Researchers created a math model that follows pesticides as they move from treated seeds or soil, through the corn plant's roots and stems, all the way up into the pollen at the top. They tested the model against real field data and it matched well. The big takeaway: chemicals that stick around a long time and move easily through water are the ones most likely to show up in pollen that bees and other pollinators collect.
Key Findings
Pesticide half-lives in corn pollen were fitted at 0.2 to 0.9 days for imidacloprid, closely matching observed spray-application data.
The model shows that mobile, persistent, and nonvolatile chemicals in soil are most likely to be translocated into pollen, posing the greatest risk to pollinators.
The framework can also flag risks from non-pesticide contaminants — such as pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals — entering farmland through reclaimed wastewater or sewage sludge.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists built a computer model that tracks how pesticides travel from treated seeds and soil up through corn plants all the way into pollen, where bees collect it. The model accurately predicted pesticide levels in pollen from real field experiments and found that certain long-lasting, water-soluble chemicals are especially likely to end up in pollen.
Abstract Preview
Seed coatings protect agricultural crops from pests, but they can expose pollinators to residues. We extended a dynamic model for pesticide uptake from soil into maize plants with a flower compartm...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Chloroplast Genome Editing Eliminates Gluten Immunogenicity in Triticum aestivum
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
Maize, also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ears. The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern ...