Pesticides will be used for a long period of time, and their use may cause environmental contamination and adverse effects on human health. The aim of this study was to improve the utilization rate of pesticides and reduce the risk to the environment using mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as carriers. Compared to the conventional formulation, spirotetramat-loading MSNs improved deposition, uptake, and translocation performance in cucumber plants. MSNs may hold spirotetramat in their mesoporous structure and prevent its degradation in plants. The final residue of spirotetramat and its metabolites demonstrated that spirotetramat-loading MSNs had low risk to the edible parts of plants under foliar application. This study added our knowledge of MSNs controlling pesticide release and transfer in plant.
Keywords: cucumber; degradation; dose transfer; mesoporous silica nanoparticles; spirotetramat.