IMPACT OF TRADITIONAL PROCESSING ON PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN ONION

Abstract

This study was carried out in two parts, in the first part; a survey was conducted to determine the extent of pesticide usage. For this purpose thirty farmers were interviewed concerning pesticides usage. The results discovered that several pesticides are used by the farmers however Endosulfan and Profenofos are the most frequently used pesticides on onion crop. Both pesticides are fat soluble an belong to the Organochlorine and organophosphorus groups respectively. On the second part, three plots were selected of which each plot was half an acre. One plot onions were grown as a control (no pesticide was sprayed). On the other two plots onions were grown on which Endosulfan and Profenofos were sprayed for six days at a recommended dose. Traditional processing methods were applied to check the efficacy of the pesticide in the end crops. It was observed that traditional processing reduces the concentration of pesticide residues. Some of the processing methods were found highly effec?ve while some were slight effec?ve. Peeling of unwashed onions reduced 20.92% of Endosulfan while 29.52% of Profenofos. Washing of peeled onions with tap water reduced 32.11% Endosulfan and 38.52% Profenofos. Sun drying of peeled sliced onions reduced residues up to 90.88% of Endosulfan and 94.56% 0f Profenofos. Dehydra?on of peeled and sliced onions reduced 93.32% Endosulfan and 94.71% Profenofos. Frying of peeled followed by plain water washed onions reduced 88.24% of Endosulfan and 96.33% of Profenofos. Blanching of peeled onions reduced 54.01% Endosulfan and 59.83% Profenofos. Washing of peeled onions with detergent followed by tap water washing reduced 36.49% of Endosulfan and 43.44% of Profenofos. Washing of peeled onion with 5% NaCl solu?on followed by tap water washing reduced 38.44% of Endosulfan and 45.90% Profenofos, while washing with 10% NaCl solu?on reduced 40.63% Endosulfan and 48.36% Profenofos