Field study for degradation of methyl parathion in apples cultivated with integrated crop management system

Determination of etoxazole in different parts of citrus fruit and its potential dietary exposure risk assessment

In this study, the profile of etoxazole in whole citrus, peel and pulp samples collected from Chongqing, Guangdong and Anhui provinces was monitored and their dietary risk to human had also been assessed. The final residual levels and distributions of etoxazole in citrus samples were detected by using an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The results showed that final concentrations of etoxazole in whole citrus, peel, and pulp were ranged at 0.012-0.174, 0.010-0.637, and 0.010-0.011 mg kg^-1, respectively. The assessment of dietary risk suggested that chronic dietary risk of etoxazole in whole fruit and peel were 0.010-0.197% and 0.035-0.951%, respectively. Our findings indicated that the chronic risk of daily consumption of citrus fruit is acceptable at recommended dosage.

Simultaneous determination of spinetoram residues in tomato by high performance liquid chromatography combined with QuEChERS method

A sensitive and simple method for simultaneous analysis of spinetoram residues and its dissipation in tomato were studied. Spinetoram residues were extracted from tomato samples with acetonitrile. The extract was cleaned-up with QuEChERS method by dispersive solid-phase extraction with primary secondary amine sorbent to remove co-extractives, prior to analysis by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). This method is characterized by recovery >97 %, relative standard division (RSD) <12.3 %, and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.04 mg kg(-1), in agreement with directive for method validation in residue analysis. Also, the results showed that spinetoram dissipation pattern followed the first order kinetics with the half-life of 2.6 days, in tomato. The spinetoram residues in tomato were below the codex maximum residue level (0.06 mg kg(-1)) after 10 days of application. This study suggests that spinetoram is acceptable to apply for tomato under the recommended dosage.

Long term effect of methylparathion contamination on soil microbial community diversity estimated by 16S rRNA gene cloning

The long-term effects of methylparathion contamination on the diversity of soil microbial community was investigated by a culture-independent approach using small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene-based cloning. Microbial DNA extracted from both the control soil sample and methylparathion contaminated soil sample was subjected to PCR amplification with primers specific for bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences. From the PCR amplification product, clone libraries were constructed for both samples. Phylotypes were defined by performing a restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences with the enzymes RsaI and HhaI. A total of 603 phylotypes were identified among the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) clones, the phylotype richness, frequency distribution (evenness) of the two clone libraries were compared by using a variety of diversity indices. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of the dominant phylotypes revealed that the bacterial communities changed noticeably. In the control soil, the dominant bacterial groups included a member of a novel bacterial division, the bacillus genus, and a member of alpha-proteobacteria, while in methylparathion contaminated soil, the dominant phylotypes were replaced by a member of the flexibactera-cytophaga-bacteroides division and two members of the gamma-proteobacteria subdivision. This is the first report of the long-term effects of methylparathion (one of the major pesticides widely used in developing countries) on soil microbial community diversity and structure by a culture-independent method, and provides the evidences to assess the long-term environmental toxicological effects of methylparathion from the microbial community viewpoint.

Effects of penconazole on two yeast strains: Growth kinetics and molecular studies

The aim of this study consisted to evaluate the impact of a pesticide (penconazole) on the growth kinetics and genotoxicity on two yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Metschnikowia pulcherrima). When the penconazole was added at different phases of the growth of M. pulcherrima, no effect was noticed on the kinetics of yeast growth but DNA adducts were observed when penconazole was added in the exponential phase. Increasing doses (1-15 maximum residue limit) of the pesticide added at the beginning of the fermentation did not induce DNA adducts while kinetics were affected.

Monitoring of pesticide residues in fresh peaches produced under conventional and integrated crop management cultivation

The frequency and severity of crop protection product (pesticide) contamination of peaches grown conventionally were compared with those of peaches grown by integrated crop management (ICM). The peach samples (n = 150) were collected preharvest (June-August 2001) from both conventional (n = 55) and ICM (n = 95) cultivations from the Pella and Imathia districts of Macedonia, Northern Greece. The residue levels of selected insecticides, fungicides and acaricides in peach samples were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry following solid-phase extraction. The concentrations of all detected pesticides were lower than the maximum residue limits (MRLs) in all peach samples grown with the ICM system (p<0.001). However, chlorpyrifos residues at levels higher than the MRLs were detected in four peach samples (i.e. 7% of the total samples) grown by the conventional system. Comparing the results for both cultivation methods with the reported average percentage (3.6%) of fruit samples with pesticide residues above the MRLs (European Union report for Greece in 2001), it was concluded that the initial implementation of the ICM in Greece was successful. The present study indicates that ICM cultivation has a higher efficiency in terms of product safety and quality. Furthermore, the results suggest that the application of conventional cultivation requires continuous monitoring of various crop protection product levels.