Relationship between dieldrin uptake in cucumber fruits and methanol–water extractable residue in soil

Abstract

We investigated the relationship between dieldrin concentrations in soil samples extracted with a 50% (v/v) methanol–water solution and dieldrin concentrations in four cultivars of cucumber fruits grown in 12 fields. Regression analysis showed significant (p<0.01) relationships between dieldrin concentrations in soil samples extracted with a 50% (v/v) methanol–water solution and dieldrin concentrations in four cultivars of cucumber fruits. Varietal differences were reflected in the slope of the regression lines. The fruit concentration factor (FCF), calculated as the dieldrin concentration in the fruits divided by the exhaustive soil concentration, indicated that dieldrin accumulation in cucumber fruits in summer is more than that in winter. Further, we found that the precision of this prediction method increased when we analyzed the same variety of cucumbers that were collected during the same harvesting periods, which were then extracted using 50% (v/v) methanol–water.