Comparative assessment of pesticide residues in grain, soil, and water from IPM and non-IPM trials of basmati rice

Abstract

The integrated pest management (IPM) modules of pesticide schedule on Basmati rice were validated at field experiments conducted in Northern India for consecutive 3years (2005-2008). The pesticide residues were found below the detectable limit (<0.01-0.001mg/kg) in soil and irrigation water samples of Kaithal region. In Dehra Dun region of Uttrakhand, the residues of carbendazim in rice grains and soil were detected below <0.01mg/kg level. In second year experiments (2006-2007), only four non-IPM soil samples indicated the presence of chlorpyrifos and endosulfan in the range of ND <0.001 to 0.07mg/kg, out of 45 samples analyzed. Carbendazim applied as seed treatment at Dehradun and Kaithal field trials was found below detectable limit in both IPM and non-IPM rice grains (<0.01mg/kg) and irrigation water (0.01μl/ml). Chlorpyrifos was detected in five water samples from Kaithal and one from Pant Nagar in the range of 0.003-0.006μl/L, α- and β-isomer of endosulfan in the range of 0.005-0.03, and 0.005-0.02μl/ml, respectively, in one sample from Pant Nagar and two from Kaithal, out of a total of 22 samples. In the region of Uttrakhand and Uttar Pradesh during 2007-2008, four non-IPM samples of soil indicated trace levels of endosulfan, out of 16 samples analyzed. The residues were detected below detection limit for carbendazim (<0.01mg/kg) in soil samples of Dehradun IPM fields and for endosulfan and carbendazim (0.001-0.01μl/L) in water samples each from IPM and non-IPM fields of Uttar Pradesh. The results of 3-year trials of IPM module indicated basmati rice as safe and economical with pesticide residue-free rice grains.