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Residue behaviour and dietary risk assessment of cyantraniliprole, flubendiamide and acetamiprid in broccoli were carried out using the QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) technique coupled with LC–MS/MS. The QuEChERS technique was validated on parameters such as linearity, accuracy, precision, robustness, matrix effects, limit of quantification (LOQ), specificity, retention time and ion ratio as per SANTE (Directorate General for Health and Food Safety) guidelines to attest to the specificity, accuracy and precision of the analytical method in estimating insecticide residues in and on broccoli heads and cropped soil. The LOQ of the method for all three insecticides was 0.01 mg/kg. The initial deposits of cyantraniliprole, flubendiamide and acetamiprid reduced to half of its concentration in 1.873–2.354, 1.975–2.484 and 1.371–1.620 days, respectively. No residues were detected in broccoli‐cropped soil at harvest time (30 days after last spray). The proposed maximum residue limits (MRLs) of 1.5, 0.5–0.9 and 2.0–3 mg/kg for cyantraniliprole, flubendiamide and acetamiprid were calculated using the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development MRL calculator. The acute and chronic dietary risk assessment of the tested insecticides identified no appreciable dietary risk to the Indian population from the consumption of broccoli heads. The findings of no dietary risk highlight the importance of informed pesticide usage in broccoli and the proposed MRL derived from this study offers crucial guidelines for the regulatory authorities, ensuring the safety of broccoli consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apis mellifera colonies were sampled for over twelve months to study the Nosema infection in different apiaries of Himachal Pradesh, India. We found that the infection incidence was highest in the winter season (48.40 %) followed by autumn and rainy months. The infection was diagnosed conventionally through the microscopic analysis detection of Nosema species spores. However, with the recent findings that both N. ceranae and N. apis affect western honey bees, more sensitive and species specific molecular techniques are required that reliably differentiate between species of microsporidia. Therefore, molecular studies were conducted to precisely differentiate between Nosema species infecting honeybee colonies in India. Species specific multiplex PCR amplification using previously reported primers derived from 16S rRNA fragments were performed in a single reaction mixture. A single diagnostic band size of only 143 bp for N. ceranae was observed in the agarose gel. Furthermore, a diagnostic band size of 252 bp was observed with primer NoS, thus reconfirming the presence of N. ceranae. This study appears to be the first to report the detect of N. ceranae species from India in samples of A. mellifera.

The study was carried out to determine the dissipation kinetics, persistence, and dietary risk assessment of tetraniliprole. Three applications of tetraniliprole were given at 50.00 g a.i./hac (X) and 62.50 g a.i/hac (1.25X) on chilli and brinjal at the fruiting stage. The recoveries in all the matrices were within the acceptable range of 70%–120%. The initial residues of tetraniliprole on chilli fruits were 0.379 and 0.593 μg/g and on brinjal fruits, the residues were 0.559 and 0.916 μg/g at 50.00 and 62.50 g a.i./ha, respectively. In red chilli, chilli field soil, and brinjal field soil the residues were below the limit of quantitation. The tetraniliprole follows first‐order dissipation kinetics with the half‐life (RL50) 1.58 and 1.99 days in chilli and 1.42 and 1.79 days in brinjal at X and 1.25X doses. In chilli, 9.89 and 12.11 days whereas, in brinjal, 10.75 and 13.25 days were recommended for harvesting the crops after the last application of tetraniliprole at X and 1.25 X doses, respectively. The hazard quotient values in chilli and brinjal for both males and females were below 1 indicating that the use of tetraniliprole does not cause any health risk to the consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apis mellifera colonies were sampled for over twelve months to study the Nosema infection in different apiaries of Himachal Pradesh, India. We found that the infection incidence was highest in the winter season (48.40 %) followed by autumn and rainy months. The infection was diagnosed conventionally through the microscopic analysis detection of Nosema species spores. However, with the recent findings that both N. ceranae and N. apis affect western honey bees, more sensitive and species specific molecular techniques are required that reliably differentiate between species of microsporidia. Therefore, molecular studies were conducted to precisely differentiate between Nosema species infecting honeybee colonies in India. Species specific multiplex PCR amplification using previously reported primers derived from 16S rRNA fragments were performed in a single reaction mixture. A single diagnostic band size of only 143 bp for N. ceranae was observed in the agarose gel. Furthermore, a diagnostic band size of 252 bp was observed with primer NoS, thus reconfirming the presence of N. ceranae. This study appears to be the first to report the detect of N. ceranae species from India in samples of A. mellifera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present studies were undertaken to find out the pollination efficiency of Apis mellifera L. and other natural pollinators in radish (cv. Pusa Himani) and their impact on yield and quality of seeds under mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh. A. cerana was dominant amongst all insect visitors being 5.85 and 6.6 bees m-2 5 minutes-1 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. A. mellifera (introduced bee species) population was quite low (0.3) during 2011 which clearly indicated that the bees did not get conditioned to the target crop. Pollination index showed that A. cerana scored maximum i.e. 13.63 and 15.38 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Pod set recorded during 2011 and 2012 in radish did not vary significantly at different distances from the A. mellifera colonies. The values being 34.42, 28.55, 30.9 and 29.3% respectively at 25 m, 50 m, 75 m and 100 m distance in 2011. The respective values during 2012 were 28.17, 27.09, 25.81 and 22.73%. During 2012, the parameters of seed quality like pod set, seed number and seed weight showed decreasing trend with increase in the distance from the placement of A. mellifera colony. This could be due to comparatively more activity of A. mellifera on radish bloom during this year. The present studies suggest that A. cerana along with other natural pollinators are providing natural pollination services for pollination of radish and other crops. Hence there is urgent need to devise suitable strategies for the conservation of these pollinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]