Analysis of Multiresidue Pesticides in Agricultural Paddy Soils Near Industrial Areas in Korea by GC–MS/MS and LC–MS/MS Using QuEChERS Extraction with dSPE Clean-Up

Abstract

Pesticides have been used to control pests in agricultural fields and storage systems before circulating agricultural products to markets. A tandem mass spectrometry, equipped with gas chromatographic separation (GC–MS/MS) or ultra-performance liquid chromatographic separation (LC–MS/MS), was used to monitor residual pesticides in Korean rice paddy soils. Selective multiple reaction monitoring was employed during the analyses to achieve multiresidue pesticide analysis using GC–MS/MS and LC–MS/MS of 342 pesticides. In this study, QuEChERS extraction was employed with a dSPE clean-up to establish an effective pretreatment process. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were set up for all pesticides, and method validation was performed for linearity and recovery at levels of 10 and 50 mg kg−1 in the untreated soil sample. All pesticides satisfied the acceptable recovery range of 70–120%, within less than 20% RSD values, except for ametoctradin and gibberellic acid. In the paddy soil analyses, tricyclazole was the most frequently detectable pesticide, followed by oxadiazon, endosulfan, and chlorantraniliprole. Continuous monitoring of residual pesticides in paddy soils should be conducted due to the translocation of some systemic pesticides from soils to crop plants, and the impact of residual pesticides on the environment.