In this study, the virucidal efficacy of a fumigant (35% paraformaldehyde) against avian influenza virus (AIV) was examined. After AIV suspensions had been deposited on stainless steel carriers, the dried carriers were exposed to the fumigant in a 300-m3 test room for 3 h. Thereafter, all carriers were submerged in a neutralizing solution to scrape off the surviving viruses, and the respective suspensions were diluted. Each dilution factor was respectively inoculated into the allantoic membrane of five 10-day-old embryos. After incubation, AIV viability in the collected allantoic fluids was examined and the EID50 was calculated. The fumigant inactivated ≥5.7log10EID50 of AIV and was nontoxic to the embryos.

Phosphine(PH3) is very effective fumigant and is widely used to control pests. Oxygen treatment was found to enhance phosphine toxicity and reduce fumigation time. We researched the insecticidal activities and synergistic effects of oxygen with phosphine(PH3) against on adult stage of 6 agricultural pests as Frankliniella occidentalis, F. intonsa, Pseudococcus comstocki, Planococcus citri, Myzus persicae and Tetranychus urticae. Adults F. occidentalis, F. intonsa, P. comstocki and P. citri was highly susceptible to PH3 at 2mg/L for 2h treatment. However, M. persicae and T. urticae were showed very low fumigation effects at 2mg/L for 2h treatment. These 2 pests were treated with PH3 to increase the times (16h and 20h). And we also researched the synergistic effects of PH3 under controlled atmospheres of 50% and 80% oxygen(O2). Increase of the time and atmospheric oxygen showed improving activities of the PH3 in the 2 agricultural pests. Therefore, PH3 is an effective fumigant against F. occidentalis, F. intonsa, P. comstocki and P. citri, and its synergistic effect with oxygen is effective to control M. persicae and T. urticae. PH3 with oxygen could be useful for managing the agricultural and quarantine pests.

Metam-sodium has been generally applied to control Pinus koraiensis, P. densiflora and P. thunbergii infected by pine wilt disease in the forest field of Korea. We determined the atmospheric concentration of nematocidal and insecticidal gaseous methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) and more volatile and toxic gaseous methyl isocyanate (MIC) in the metam-sodium fumigated fields depending on the distance from metam-sodium treated site, time and season by OSHA No. 52 method. Determined atmospheric MIC was below acute exposure limit (50 ㎍/㎥) and chronic exposure limit (1.0 ㎍/㎥) of EPA regulation in all detection point. In summer, the maximum of MITC and MIC was observed to 105.2 ㎍/㎥ in the 1st day and 0.41 ㎍/㎥ in the 4th day after metam-sodium treatment, respectively. On the other hand, in winter, the maximum of MITC and MIC was observed to 4.6 ㎍/㎥ in the 4th day and 0.52 ㎍/㎥ in the 5th day after metam-sodium treatment, respectively. Atmospheric concentrations of MITC and MIC were higher the closer to the metam-sodium treated site, but decreased below LOQ with distance (~ 50 m). This result showed that the reaction rate of metam-sodium to MITC is more affected by temperature and the translation rate of MITC to MIC is generally very low, regardless of season.

Pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) produced in the subesophageal ganglion is known to stimulate pheromone production in the pheromone gland. A cDNA isolated from female adult heads of Maruca vitrata encodes 197 amino acids including PBAN, designated as Mvi-PBAN, and four other neuropeptides (NPs): diapause hormone (DH) homologue, α-NP, β-NP and γ-NP. All of the peptides are amidated in their C-termini and shared a conserved motif, FXPR(or K)L-NH2 structure. Mvi-PBAN consists of 35 amino acids as previously reported (Chang and Ramasamy, 2014). RT-PCR analysis revealed that Mvi-PBAN cDNA was expressed in all examined body parts. Nucleotide sequence analysis of RT-PCR products indicated the Mvi-PBAN sequence was identical in all examined body parts of both sexes. These results suggest that Mvi-PBAN expression is maintained in examined stages or tissues.

Antibiotic Detection Kit (Combination I), a lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) developed for detecting antibiotic residues in milk, was utilized for the analysis of antibiotic residues in the muscle tissue of olive flounder. After 5-h treatment of samples by placing them in water dosed with sulfadimethoxine (SDM; 200 g/ton water), the residue depletion of SDM was investigated in 25 cultured olive flounders (Paralichthys olivaceus). Muscles from fish were sampled before treatment and on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th days after treatment. The concentration of SDM in the muscle was then determined by LFIA. The absorbance ratio of the sample to the control blank (Bs/Bo) was employed as an index to determine the residue in olive flounder muscle. To investigate the recovery rate, standard solutions were added to muscle samples to obtain final concentrations of 25 and 50 ng/mL in the muscle. The recovery rates of all spiked samples were >96.6% of the spiked value. SDM was detectable in the muscle of fish treated with the drug until the 1st day of the withdrawal period. The present study shows that the LFIA can be easily adopted to detect SDM residues in the tissue of farmed fish.

This study investigated the antibacterial effects of Galla rhois extract (GRE) against Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of GRE against C. jejuni and C. coli were 0.28 and 0.55 mg/mL, respectively, and the corresponding minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) were 4.4 and 5.5 mg/mL. C. jejuni treated with the MIC, MBC or 2×MBC of GRE showed significant inhibition of growth compared with that of the control group during the incubation period, and no viable bacteria were detected at 24 h after incubation. C. coli treated with MIC, MBC or 2×MBC of GRE also showed inhibition of growth compared with that of the control group during the incubation period, and in the C. coli cultures treated with MBC and 2×MBC of GRE, no viable bacteria were detected at 24 h after incubation. In conclusion, GRE is a candidate antibacterial agent against C. jejuni and C. coli, and may have applications for the control of Campylobacter infection in poultry.

This study investigated the effects of LactoPlanta® (Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum), 2.0 × 109 colony forming units (CFU)/kg) on reduction of noxious gas emission in pig houses as well as improvement of carcass weight and quality in finishing pigs. A total of 850 finishing pigs were assigned to four treatment groups: control (CON, basal diet) (n=190), LP-0.1, 0.1% LactoPlanta® (n=210), LP-0.2, 0.2% LactoPlanta® (n=230), and LP-0.4, 0.4% LactoPlanta® (n=220). Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentrations were significantly reduced in all treatment groups compared to CON. Mercaptan contents and carcass weights of LP-0.2 and LP-0.4 were significantly decreased compared to CON, whereas there were no significant differences between LP-0.1 and CON. Carcass weight of LP-0.1 was slightly higher than that of CON, but there was no significant difference. However, carcass weights of LP-0.2 and LP-0.4 were significantly higher than that of CON (P<0.05). The prevalence of grade A carcasses in groups administered with L. plantarum (46.7~63.3%) was higher than that in CON (43.3%) and increased in a dose-dependent manner. Based on the results of this study, L. plantarum could be an effective candidate to reduce noxious gas emissions in finishing pig houses as well as improve carcass weight and quality in finishing pigs.