Pesticide Residue Assessment on Vegetable Crops through Rapid Bioassay of Pesticide Residue in Nepal

Abstract

The increasing use of pesticides has also raised the risk of higher pesticide residues in food. Also, the food commodities imported from India are considered to be very unsafe to consume because of their indiscriminate pesticide applications on crops. Sometime, this situation also occurs in Nepal food commodities. The research was carried to evaluate the residue level of carbamate and organophosphate pesticides in different vegetable commodities of Nepal origin and regularly imported from India. Pesticide residue was evaluated through Rapid Bioassay of Pesticide Residue analysis in 285 samples obtained from Bagmati Province, Lumbini Province and Sudurpaschim Province of Nepal and bordering areas of Koshi, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces. In laboratory test, most of vegetable crops were found to have pesticide residue in them. In Bagmati province, brinjal (17.29%), capsicum (16.6%), and chilli (18.12%); in Lumbini, brinjal (17%), cauliflower (15.8%), and potato (16.68%); in Sudurpaschim, broadleaf mustard (15.21%) and cauliflower (41.64%) were found relatively higher pesticide residues while potato (18.38%), tomato (29%), bean (32.52%), brinjal (39.25%), bitter gourd (14.37%) imported from India were found relatively higher pesticide residues.