Pesticide residues in cucumbers cultivated in Bangladesh

Pesticides are widely used for preventing crop losses due to pest attack. In Bangladesh, the food safety and health of farmers are being compromised as a result of poor regulation concerning usage of pesticides in food production. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify pesticides applied...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Haag, Jennie, Landahl, Anna
Format: Others
Language:English
Published: Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-234741
Description
Summary:Pesticides are widely used for preventing crop losses due to pest attack. In Bangladesh, the food safety and health of farmers are being compromised as a result of poor regulation concerning usage of pesticides in food production. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify pesticides applied on cucumber crops in Bangladesh. A method for extraction and clean-up was developed to allow the quantification of four pesticides by GC-ECD in vegetable samples, specifically cucumber. The accuracy of the method was validated using recovery and its precision by studying the standard deviation and relative standard deviation. Analysis of cucumber samples obtained in the field showed no traces of the target pesticides. The results indicate that different types of chemicals are used on the examined crops. It is also believed that the growth habit of cucumber may affect the exposure to pesticides. To overcome the health hazards, restrictions regarding the types and quantities of chemicals used on the fields need to be implemented. Further studies would benefit from being executed in a controlled environment, and monitoring of which substances that are applied at which amounts.