Magnitude of pesticidal contamination in winter vegetables from Hisar, Haryana.

Monitoring of 80 winter vegetable samples during 1997-1998 for pesticidal contamination was carried out on GC-ECD and GC-NPD systems with capillary columns following multiresidue analytical technique. The tested samples were found 100% contaminated with low but measurable amounts of pesticide residues. Among the four major chemical groups, residue levels of organophosphorous insecticides were highest followed by carbamates, synthetic pyrethroids and organochlorines. About 32% of the samples showed contamination with organophosphorous and carbamate insecticides above their respective MRL values. On the basis of observations made in these studies, it is suggested that more extensive monitoring studies covering all vegetable crops from different agro-climatic regions of the state be carried out to know exact level of pesticidal contamination, which may serve as basis for future policy on chemical use.