From Water to Water: Insight into the Translocation of Pesticides from Plant Rhizosphere Solution to Leaf Guttation and the Associated Ecological Risks

Abstract

Plant guttation is an important source of water/nutrients for many beneficial insects, while the presence of pesticides in guttation has been considered as a new exposure route for nontarget insects. This study aimed to elucidate how 15 diverse pesticides are translocated from growth media to guttation by maize plants through a hydroponic experiment. All pesticides were effectively translocated from the growth solution to maize guttation and reached a steady state within 5 days. The strong positive correlation ( R 2 = 0.43–0.84) between the concentrations of pesticides in guttation and in xylem sap demonstrated that xylem sap was a major source of pesticides in guttation. The relationship between the bioaccumulation of pesticides in guttation (BCF guttation ) and the chemical K ow was split into two distinct patterns: for pesticides with log K ow > 3, we identified a good negative linear correlation between log BCF guttation and log K ow ( R 2 = 0.71); however, for pesticides with log K ow < 3, all data fall close to a horizontal line of BCF guttation ≅ 1, indicating that hydrophilic pesticides can easily pass through the plants from rhizosphere solution to leaf guttation and reach saturation status. Besides, after feeding with pesticide-contaminated guttation, the mortality of honeybees was significantly impacted, even at very low levels (e.g., ∑600 μg/L with a mortality of 93%). Our results provide essential information for predicting the contamination of plant guttation with pesticides and associated ecological risks.