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Plant-parasitic nematodes cause severe damage to the various agricultural crops, leading to economic losses for farmers. Therefore, identification and development of novel and environmentally benign nematicides is critically important. In this study, a silver nanoparticle (AgNP) formulation was synthesized, characterized, and investigated as a potential nematicide against rice root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne gramnicola, on rice (Oryza sativa). A series of lab assays (water and sand screening) and glasshouse experiments (using soilless system, autoclaved soil, and naturally infested soil) were conducted to examine the nematicidal effects of AgNP. The results from lab assays revealed 0.1 µg/ml as the minimum concentration for 100% irreversible nematode mortality after 12 hr in the water screening test. However, results from the sand screening test indicated 100% nematicidal effect of AgNP at 2 µg/ml after 24 hr of incubation. In glasshouse assays in soilless system of rice cultivation, 1 µg/ml concentration of AgNP applied directly to the trays achieved significant suppression of root gall formation. The effective dosage to kill nematodes in field soil assays was determined to be 3 µg/ml, which is lower than the value of 150 µg/ml reported in the literature. No visible adverse effect of AgNP was observed on seed germination or plant growth in all the experiments. The results indicate that AgNP has effective nematicidal activity against M. graminicolain rice.

The higher methanol utilization efficiency in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is one of the key factors that determine the performance of DMFC. Herein, we have synthesized bimetallic PtCo nano-particles (with optimized Pt:Co ratio) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nano-composite as anode catalyst. The electrochemical response of optimized PtCo (1:9)/rGO catalyst revealed efficient oxidation of 5 M methanol in half-cell configuration with ~ 60% Faradaic efficiency. A current density of 463.5 mA/cm2and a power density of 136.8 mW/cm2were achieved using PtCo (1:9)/rGO anode catalyst in a complete DMFC set-up at 100 °C with 5 M methanol supply which is ~ three times greater as compared to commercial Pt/C (48.03 mW/cm2). The low activation energy of 9.88 kJ/mol indicates the faster methanol oxidation reduction (MOR) kinetics of PtCo (1:9)/rGO anode catalyst. Furthermore, the higher methanol utilization and open-circuit voltage in complete DMFC using PtCo (1:9)/rGO as compared to commercial Pt/C indicate the reduced methanol crossover. The excellent catalytic behavior of PtCo (1:9)/rGO towards MOR and high methanol utilization warrant its potential application as anode catalyst in DMFC.

This erratum corrects the following typographical errors in the published article without affecting the scientific results and conclusions of the original article.