DETERMINATION OF PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN COUNTRY BEAN AND BITTER GOURD COLLECTED FROM CUMILLA

Abstract

The study was carried out to analyze pesticide residues in two common vegetables (country bean and bitter gourd) collected from five different locations of Cumilla district during January to April 2018. The collected samples were carried to the Pesticide Analytical Laboratory, Entomology Division of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur on the same sampling day. The collected samples were analyzed using Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) extraction technique and Gas Chromatography (GC) coupled with Flame Thermionic Detector (FTD) for the determination of pesticide resi dues in 40 samples of country bean and 40 samples of bitter gourd. Among the 40 analyzed samples of country bean, 11 samples (22.50% of the total number of samples) contained residues of diazinon and dimethoate, where two (2) samples contained multiple residues and 7 samples contained single residue and all the contaminated samples (9 samples) contained residue above the maximum residue limits (MRLs). Out of 40 samples of bitter gourd, 4 samples (10% of the total number of samples) contained residues of dimethoate, diazinon and chlorpyrifos, where 1 sample contained multiple residues and 3 samples contained single residue and all the contaminated samples (4 samples) contained residue above the maximum residue limits (MRLs). This study reflects the overall scenario of pesticide residue remain in country bean and bitter gourd collected from different markets of Cumilla district, which will help the consumer and policy makers to be aware of their health and safety.