Residues of Pesticides and Herbicides in Soils from Agriculture Areas of Delhi Region, India

Abstract

This paper presents the residue levels of organochlorine, organophosphate pesticides and herbicides in agricultural soils from Delhi region. Among OCPs, HCH, DDT endosulphan and dieldrin ranged between <0.01-104.14 ng g^-1, <0.01-15.79 ng g^-1, <0.01-7.57 ng g^-1 and <0.01-2.38 ng g^-1, respectively. The concentration of OPPs ranged from <0.01-20.95 ng g^-1, ND-3.92 ng g^-1, ND-31.73 ng g^-1, ND-6.46 ng g^-1 and ND-6.46 ng g^-1 for phosphomidon, monocrotophos, chlorpyriphos, quinolphos and ethion, respectively. Pendimethalin (0.27 ng g^-1) was the dominant herbicides followed by butachlor (0.19 ng g^-1), and fluchloralin (0.05 ng g^-1). Data showed the region was contaminated by technical DDT and technical HCH mixture. The study reveals that the level of some organochlorine pesticides in agricultural soils is a matter of concern for future food chain accumulation and human health so; regular investigation of pesticide residues is recommended on soil health and contamination levels.

Keywords: pesticides, herbicides, agricultural soil, Delhi, India