Dust Particles as a Pesticide’s Carrier in Agro-Ecosystems; Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Line 46 Add fungicides,  for example chemical groups of fungicide that have been detected. There are many  more chemical groups of pesticides in use.

In Materijal and Methods: Explain detailed sampling of soil (sampling depth..) and plant material  for the analysis.

Tab. 4  Express the quantity  of detected pesticides per kilogram. Some of pesticides found in the dust are not approved for use in EU. Are they approved for use in Israel? If not why are they present in dust?

 Tab 5. Express the quantity  of detected pesticides per kilogram. In the column Comments, write uniform comments for the active substances that have been detected, to which chemical group they belong or what they are use for. Some of pesticides found in soil samples  are not approved for use in EU for several years, or decades.  Explain why are detected in soli. For this explanation is important to know the depth of soil sampling.

Tab 6. Express the quantity  of detected pesticides per kilogram. In the column Comments, write uniform comments for the active substances that have been detected, to which chemical group they belong or what they are use for.  Some of pesticides found in plans  are not approved for use in EU ( oxadiazon,quinoxyfen) . Are they approved for use in Israel? If not how they can be applied and  detected  in plants?

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Answers to Reviewer I

Line 46 Add fungicides,  for example, chemical groups of fungicide that have been detected. There are many  more chemical groups of pesticides in use.

We thank the reviewer for his crusial comments and suggestions.

We rewrote the sentence and added two fungicides: "For examples: triazoles, quinolines, organochlorides, organophosphates, carbamates, triazines, and others."

 

In Material and Methods: Explain detailed sampling of soil (sampling depth..) and plant material for the analysis.

We added in the Method section: C) Four random soil samples (10 cm depth) were collected from the upper soil layer within each fixed measuring area to examine the possibility of pesticides in the soils. D) Five random samples (1 kg) were collected from the vegetation leaves in the fixed measuring areas at each site.

Tab. 4 Express the quantity of detected pesticides per kilogram.

We thank the reviewer for his crusial comment. We wrote by mistake m/L it should be m/kg. We corrected the concentration to mg/kg.

Some of pesticides found in the dust are not approved for use in EU. Are they approved for use in Israel? If not, why are they present in dust?

In general, the EU regulations are used in Israel. It is unknown sources. Some pesticides that are not allowed to use in agriculture are still used in the urban area against weeds, especially those that grow in rainwater drainage ditches. Furthermore, some are hard-to-decompose materials that have survived in the soil for decades after being banned from use.

Tab 5. Express the quantity of detected pesticides per kilogram.

We thank the reviewer for his crusial comment. We wrote by mistake m/L it should be m/kg. We corrected the concentration to mg/kg).

In the column Comments, write uniform comments for the active substances that have been detected, to which chemical group they belong or what they are use for.

We followed up on the suggestion by the reviewer and added the Use, Chemical group in the column Comment.

Some of pesticides found in soil samples are not approved for use in EU for several years, or decades. Explain why are detected in soil. For this explanation is important to know the depth of soil sampling.

In general, the EU regulations are used in Israel. It is unknown sources. Our assumption is that some are hard-to-decompose materials that have survived in the soil for decades, after being banned from use by the governmental regulators.

We added in the Method section: C) Four random soil samples (10 cm depth) were collected from the upper soil layer within each fixed measuring area to examine the possibility of pesticides in the soils.

Tab 6. Express the quantity of detected pesticides per kilogram.

We thank to the reviewer for his crusial comment. We wrote by mistake m/L it should be m/kg. We corrected the concentration to mg/kg).

In the column Comments, write uniform comments for the active substances that have been detected, to which chemical group they belong or what they are use for. 

We followed up on the suggestion by the reviewer and added the Use, Chemical group in the column Comment.

Some of pesticides found in plans are not approved for use in EU (oxadiazon,quinoxyfen). Are they approved for use in Israel? If not how they can be applied and detected in plants?

In general, the EU regulations are used in Israel. It is unknown sources. Our assumption is that some are hard-to-decompose materials that have survived in the soil for decades, after being banned from use by the govramental regulators.

Reviewer 2 Report

Review comments on agronomy-1747609

In this work, the possible role of dust particles as carriers of pesticides was investigated. The presence and accumulation of pesticides in vegetation and soils of the agricultural field and natural areas nearby were examined in two different climatic zones, Mediterranean and semiarid. This manuscript will be considered for acceptable after revised based on the following comments:

1.      Research highlights should be edited and stated with remarkable achievements.

2.      Graphical abstract should be prepared with better quality.

3.      Abstract must be enriched via valuable results which pave the way for understanding the audiences.

4.      Written is very weak. In its current state, the level of English throughout the manuscript needs language polishing. Please check the manuscript and refine the language carefully.

5.      What is the main significance of paper in comparison to other published works?

6.      Introduction writing part is not satisfactory. Need to be improved. A bit more updated literature review on the current progress of application of advanced technologies such as nanotechnology for improving people's lives, removal of toxic pollutants and environmental remediation should be conducted. Introduction has deficiency citation to valuable works published before.

7.      The experimental details of the tests are not sufficient. Details must be given.

8.      And the structure of the manuscript might need a major adjusting for a better understanding.

9.      The writing logic of characterization analysis is not clear.

10.  Redesign the methods chapter the way so anybody can repeat your procedures

11.  Results and discussion: - To increase the scientific value of the manuscript Authors should consider extension of the all results section with comparison of obtained results with the results described in previous publications.

12.  The authors should prepare all figures with better resolution.

13.  This work should be compared with the other work in Table form.

14.  Conclusion must be improve with obtaining data and also describe about future

15.  Indeed, there are impressive amount of results. However, the conclusions section needs to improve with selected and highlighted main findings.

 

Author Response

Answers to Reviewer II

In this work, the possible role of dust particles as carriers of pesticides was investigated. The presence and accumulation of pesticides in vegetation and soils of the agricultural field and natural areas nearby were examined in two different climatic zones, Mediterranean and semiarid. This manuscript will be considered for acceptable after revised based on the following comments:

1. Research highlights should be edited and stated with remarkable achievements.

We edited the highlights with the major findings

2. Graphical abstract should be prepared with better quality.

We redraw the Graphical Abstract with colors to make it more visible and clear to the readers. Unfortunately, saving the file in PDF affects the quality of the illustration. We will try to upload it in a WORD file.

3. Abstract must be enriched via valuable results which pave the way for understanding the audiences.

In the Agronomy Journal, there is a limit of only up to 200 words in the Abstract that should include a short introduction, hypothesis, the objectives, short methods, and results. Almost one line to each covers the number of the words aloud. We re-wrote the Abstract and added a sentence that summarizes the results "The renewal of the results indicated that seasonal agricultural activity leading to the transport of dust particles was a major contribution to the spatial distribution of pesticides, in both climate zones."Written is very weak. In its current state, the level of English throughout the manuscript needs language polishing. Please check the manuscript and refine the language carefully.

We did our best and consulted with English native speakers to improve the text.

5. What is the main significance of paper in comparison to other published works?

Although many studies have dealt with the results of pesticide spraying drift to the natural environment, we lack knowledge on the role of dust particles transfer of pesticides. Therefore, our results have scientifically revealed the problem associated with the movement, of the soil surface of farmlands, as dust particles containing pesticides from agricultural fields to nearby natural areas.

6. Introduction writing part is not satisfactory. Need to be improved. Introduction has deficiency citation to valuable works published before.

We thank the reviewer for his comments regarding the Introductory chapter. We re-edited the introduction while adding background from seven additional publications to enrich the readers' knowledge by citations to valuable studies published before:

Querol, X. et al. Monitoring the impact of desert dust outbreaks for air quality for health studies. Environ. Internat. 130, 2019, 104867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.05.061

Nascimento, M.M. et al. Pesticides in fine airborne particles: from a green analysis method to atmospheric characterization and risk assessment. Sci. Rep. 2017, 7, 2267. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02518-1

Offer, Y.Z. et al. Atmospheric pollution by Iceland volcano lava dispersion - the Brussels case. Geographical Stud. Environ. Protect. Res. 2012, 11, 5-10. https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/99068/1/Offer.pdf

Zaady, E. et al. Weekly variations of atmospheric particles, micromorphology and chemistry in the Brussels urban environment. Environ. Monitor. Assess. 2010, 169, 45-54. doi: 10.1007/s10661-009-1149-5

Vanderstraeten, P. et al. Elevated PM10 concentrations and high PM2,5/PM10 ratio in the Brussels urban area during the 2006 Car-Free Sunday. Waste Manag. 2010, 3, 264-279. doi:10.1504/IJEWM.2010.035062

Zaady, E. et al. Heavy metals identified in airborne particles during weekend periods in Brussels urban environment. Geograph. Studies Environ. Protec. 2010, 9, 87-92. http://forumgeografic.ro/2010/582/

Elad, D. et al. In vitro exposure of nasal epithelial cells to atmospheric dust. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology 2018, 17,891–901. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-017-0999-y.

 

Furthermore, we added a paragraph: "Dusts can occur naturally, e.g., pollens, volcanic ashes, and sandstorms (Vanderstraeten et al. 2007, 2008, 2010; Zaady et al. 2008; Offer et al. 2012). These may include mineral dust, coal, and cement dust; metallic dust (Zaady et al. 2010: such as lead, cadmium, nickel, and beryllium dust; chemical dust and pesticides drift (Nascimento), organic and vegetable dust, such as flour, wood, cotton and tea dust, pollens; biohazards, and molds and spores. Dust particles impact human health by passing through the nasal passage and traveling to the lungs and causing damage (Elad et al. 2018). People most at risk from breathing particle pollution are children, the elderly, and people with respiratory diseases. Healthy people can be affected as well, especially outdoor exercisers. Effects of breathing PM for short (hours) and long (years) may cause breathing difficulties, respiratory pain, diminished lung function, weakened immune systems, and increased hospitalization for pneumonia, and asthma (Querol et al. 2019)".

A bit more updated literature review on the current progress of application of advanced technologies such as nanotechnology for improving people's lives, removal of toxic pollutants and environmental remediation should be conducted.

As for technologies such as nanotechnology for improving people's lives, removal of toxic pollutants, and environmental remediation. These are beyond the scope of our article.

7. The experimental details of the tests are not sufficient. Details must be given.

We edited again and expanded the methods section.

8. And the structure of the manuscript might need a major adjusting for a better understanding.

We did our best to improve the structure of the manuscript.

9. The writing logic of characterization analysis is not clear.

We updated and rewrote the logic of characterization analysis.

10. Redesign the methods chapter the way so anybody can repeat your procedures.

We thank the reviewer for his comment and rewrote the methods section, icluding: the measurements and the statistical Analyses.

11. Results and discussion: - To increase the scientific value of the manuscript Authors should consider extension of the all results section with comparison of obtained results with the results described in previous publications.

We improved the Interoduction and the Discussion sections. We described results obtained in the literature, such as:

Alonso, L.L.; Demetrio, P.M.; Agustina Etchegoyen, M.; Marino, D.J. Glyphosate and atrazine in rainfall and soils in agroproductive areas of the pampas region in Argentina. Sci. Total Environ. 2018, 645, 89–96.

Elad, D.; Zaretsky, U.; Avraham, S.; Gotlieb, G.; Wolf, W.;  Katra, I.; Sarig, S.; Zaady, E. In vitro exposure of nasal epithelial cells to atmospheric dust. Biomechanics Modeling in Mechanobiol. 2018, 17,891–901.

Middleton, N.J. Desert dust hazards: A global review. Aeolian Res. 2017, 24 53–63.

Morman, S.A.; Plumlee, G.S. The role of airborne mineral dusts in human disease. Aeolian Res. 2013, 9, 203–212.

Nascimento, M.M.; da Rocha, G.O.; de Andrade, J.B. Pesticides in fine airborne particles: from a green analysis method to atmospheric characterization and risk assessment. Sci Rep 2017, 7, 2267.

Offer, Y.Z.; Vanderstraeten, P.; Brenig, L.; Carati,  D.; Lénelle, Y.; Meurrens, A.; Zaady, E. Atmospheric pollution by Iceland volcano lava dispersion - the Brussels case. Geographical Stud. Environ. Protect. Res. 2012, 11, 5-10.

Querol, X.; Tobías, A.; Pérez, N.; Karanasiou, A.; Amato, F.; Stafoggia, M.; García-Pando, C.P.; Ginoux, P.; Forastiere, F.; Gumy, S.; Mudu, P.; Alastuey, A. Monitoring the impact of desert dust outbreaks for air quality for health studies. Environ. Internat. 130, 2019, 104867.

Silva, V.; Mol, H.G.; Zomer, P.; Tienstra, M.; Ritsema, C.J.; Geissen, V. Pesticide residues in European agricultural soils–A hidden reality unfolded. Sci.Total Environ. 2019, 653, 1532-1545.

Tang, F.H.M.; Lenzen, M.; McBratney, A.; Maggi, F. Risk of pesticide pollution at the global scale. Nat. Geosci. 2021, 14, 206–210.

Ramirez-Haberkon, N.B.; Aimarb, S.B.; Aparicio, V.C.; Buschiazzo, D.E.; De Gerónimo, E.; J.L.; Costa, J.L.; Mendez, M.J. Management effects on glyphosate and AMPA concentrations in the PM10 emitted by soils of the central semi-arid region of Argentina. Aeolian Res. 2021, 49, 100658.

Vanderstraeten, P.; Forton, M.; Lénelle, Y.; Meurrens, A.; Carati, D.; Brenig, L.; Offer, Z.Y.; Zaady, E. Elevated PM10 concentrations and high PM2,5/PM10 ratio in the Brussels urban area during the 2006 Car-Free Sunday. Waste Manag. 2010, 3, 264-279.

Zaady, E.; Brenig, L.; Carati, D.; Meurrens, A.; Lénelle, Y.; Vanderstraeten, P.; Offer, Z.Y. Heavy metals identified in airborne particles during weekend periods in Brussels urban environment. Geograph. Studies Environ. Protec. 2010, 9, 87-92.

Zaady, E.; Carati, D.; Brenig, L.; Vanderstraeten, P.; Lénelle, Y.; Meurrens, A.; Offer, Z.Y. Weekly variations of atmospheric particles, micromorphology and chemistry in the Brussels urban environment. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2010, 169, 45-54.

12. The authors should prepare all figures with better resolution.

We thank the reviewer for his comment. We redraw figure No.3 with colors to make it more visible and clear to the readers.

13. This work should be compared with the other work in Table form.

The present study aimed to present evidence on the role of dust particles in carrying pesticides in two different climatic zones in Israel (Mediterranean and Samiaridi in Israel).

It is not the intention to write a review article comparing different places worldwide. Despite this, and following the reviewer's proposal to expand, we addressed both in the introduction and in the discussion the knowledge that exists in the literature, including from review articles such as:

Silva, V .; Mol, H.G .; Zomer, P .; Tienstra, M .; Ritsema, C.J .; Geissen, V. Pesticide residues in European agricultural soils – A hidden reality unfolded. Sci.Total Environ. 2019, 653, 1532-1545.

Tang, F.H.M .; Lenzen, M .; McBratney, A .; Maggi, F. Risk of pesticide pollution at the global scale. Nat. Geosci. 2021, 14, 206–210.

Middleton, N.J. Desert dust hazards: A global review. Aeolian Res. 2017, 24 53–63.

We hope this will help readers understand the subject.

14. Conclusion must be improve with obtaining data and also describe about future. Indeed, there are impressive amount of results. However, the conclusions section needs to improve with selected and highlighted main findings.

We improved the Conclusion section.

 

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Recommendation: Reject

In this manuscript, "Dust particles as a pesticides carrier in agro-ecosystems; qualitative and quantitative analysis”, the whole quality is not high. The discusstion is not deep and clear. So it is not recommended to be accepted.

Comments for author File: Comments.docx

Author Response

Thursday, July 28, 2022

 

Dear Megan Yang,

Assistant Editor

Following the comment of the reviewer: In this manuscript, "Dust particles as a pesticides carrier in agro-ecosystems; qualitative and quantitative analysis”, the whole quality is not high. The discussion is not deep and clear”.

The manuscript was corrected and significantly improved following the specific comments of the Editor in the second round. It includes strengthening the discussion on the distribution of dust particles and pesticides. In our answers and explanations to the reviewers, we improved the Conclusion section, and elaborated the Discussion by adding two paragraphs:

1. To strengthen the results found in Argentina [57,64], the results of the present study confirmed our hypothesis that wind in the eastern Mediterranean and the semiarid sites transported pesticides carried by soil dust to nearby natural areas. Dust emissions from agricultural fields in this region were already demonstrated in our previous works [62,65] as well as the potential of atmospheric transport to several kilometers from the field [66].
2. Furthermore, the variety of pesticides found at the Mediterranean site comes, probably for the most part, from the immediate area. However, the presence of a fungicide found in dust in collectors can be explained. The typical crop at the Mediterranean site where we worked was strawberry. Planting begins in the autumn and the beginning of the winter when the rains and drip irrigation bring high humidity around the plants. This moisture encourages the development of pathogenic fungi in plants, such as Podosphaera aphanis. It explains the use of anti-fungal pesticides, which are allowed in the stages before the appearance of the fruit.

 

As we wrote in our pervious answers:

We improved the Introduction, Results and the Discussion sections. We described results obtained in the literature, such as:

Alonso, L.L.; Demetrio, P.M.; Agustina Etchegoyen, M.; Marino, D.J. Glyphosate and atrazine in rainfall and soils in agroproductive areas of the pampa’s region in Argentina. Sci. Total Environ. 2018, 645, 89–96.

Elad, D.; Zaretsky, U.; Avraham, S.; Gotlieb, G.; Wolf, W.; Katra, I.; Sarig, S.; Zaady, E. In vitro exposure of nasal epithelial cells to atmospheric dust. Biomechanics Modeling in Mechanobiol. 2018, 17,891–901.

Middleton, N.J. Desert dust hazards: A global review. Aeolian Res. 2017, 24 53–63.

Morman, S.A.; Plumlee, G.S. The role of airborne mineral dusts in human disease. Aeolian Res. 2013, 9, 203–212.

Nascimento, M.M.; da Rocha, G.O.; de Andrade, J.B. Pesticides in fine airborne particles: from a green analysis method to atmospheric characterization and risk assessment. Sci Rep 2017, 7, 2267.

Offer, Y.Z.; Vanderstraeten, P.; Brenig, L.; Carati,  D.; Lénelle, Y.; Meurrens, A.; Zaady, E. Atmospheric pollution by Iceland volcano lava dispersion - the Brussels case. Geographical Stud. Environ. Protect. Res. 2012, 11, 5-10.

Querol, X.; Tobías, A.; Pérez, N.; Karanasiou, A.; Amato, F.; Stafoggia, M.; García-Pando, C.P.; Ginoux, P.; Forastiere, F.; Gumy, S.; Mudu, P.; Alastuey, A. Monitoring the impact of desert dust outbreaks for air quality for health studies. Environ. Internat. 130, 2019, 104867.

Silva, V.; Mol, H.G.; Zomer, P.; Tienstra, M.; Ritsema, C.J.; Geissen, V. Pesticide residues in European agricultural soils–A hidden reality unfolded. Sci.Total Environ. 2019, 653, 1532-1545.

Tang, F.H.M.; Lenzen, M.; McBratney, A.; Maggi, F. Risk of pesticide pollution at the global scale. Nat. Geosci. 2021, 14, 206–210.

Ramirez-Haberkon, N.B.; Aimarb, S.B.; Aparicio, V.C.; Buschiazzo, D.E.; De Gerónimo, E.; J.L.; Costa, J.L.; Mendez, M.J. Management effects on glyphosate and AMPA concentrations in the PM10 emitted by soils of the central semi-arid region of Argentina. Aeolian Res. 2021, 49, 100658.

Vanderstraeten, P.; Forton, M.; Lénelle, Y.; Meurrens, A.; Carati, D.; Brenig, L.; Offer, Z.Y.; Zaady, E. Elevated PM10 concentrations and high PM2,5/PM10 ratio in the Brussels urban area during the 2006 Car-Free Sunday. Waste Manag. 2010, 3, 264-279.

Zaady, E.; Brenig, L.; Carati, D.; Meurrens, A.; Lénelle, Y.; Vanderstraeten, P.; Offer, Z.Y. Heavy metals identified in airborne particles during weekend periods in Brussels urban environment. Geograph. Studies Environ. Protec. 2010, 9, 87-92.

Zaady, E.; Carati, D.; Brenig, L.; Vanderstraeten, P.; Lénelle, Y.; Meurrens, A.; Offer, Z.Y. Weekly variations of atmospheric particles, micromorphology and chemistry in the Brussels urban environment. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2010, 169, 45-54.

 

Furthermore, the present study aimed to present evidence on the role of dust particles in carrying pesticides in two different climatic zones in Israel (Mediterranean and Semiarid in Israel).

It is not the intention to write a review article comparing different places worldwide. Despite this, and following the reviewer's proposal to expand, we addressed both in the introduction and in the discussion the knowledge that exists in the literature, including from review articles such as:

Middleton, N.J. Desert dust hazards: A global review. Aeolian Res. 2017, 24 53–63.

Silva, V.; Mol, H.G.; Zomer, P.; Tienstra, M.; Ritsema, C.J.; Geissen, V. Pesticide residues in European agricultural soils – A hidden reality unfolded. Sci.Total Environ. 2019, 653, 1532-1545.

Tang, F.H.M.; Lenzen, M.; McBratney, A.; Maggi, F. Risk of pesticide pollution at the global scale. Nat. Geosci. 2021, 14, 206–210.

 

We hope the manuscript is suitable for publication..

Sincerely,

Eli Zaady

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf