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The behavior and dissipation of several pesticides on selected cultivars of specialty vegetable crops were compared to determine appropriate preharvest intervals for compliance with maximum residue limits. To reduce application variability, a tank mix of pesticides was applied for each trial. Residues of eight pesticides applied to bok choi, Chinese broccoli, and fuzzy squash were similar for the two leafy vegetables; residues were higher than on squash because of the latter's larger mass-to-surface area ratio. Whereas residues of five of the nine pesticides applied to cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and bok choi did not differ significantly from 3 to 14 days after application, residues of cypermethrin and three fungicides were significantly higher on Chinese cabbage and bok choi. The residue deposits of the pesticides were about 50% lower on Chinese cabbage and 90% lower on cabbage than on bok choi. Dissipation of residues on different cultivars of lettuce and cabbage were compared after application of nine pesticides. With the exception of captan, residues on head lettuce were lower than on the other lettuces on day 1; cultivar differences were not significant for most of the nine applied pesticides on days 3 and 8. Generally, residues of the nine individual pesticides on storage cabbage, savoy cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and tah tsai did not differ significantly from day 1 to day 7 after application. Residue concentrations were generally significantly higher on bok choi than on the other cultivars. Residue deposits generally correlated with the rate of application; residues of captan, however, were about 50% of the predicted value. Significant differences in deposit and dissipation were observed among cultivars and pesticides, with dramatic initial decreases for diazinon and parathion. Because of their higher exposed surface area-to-mass ratios, leafier crops had higher residue concentrations than head varieties. Residues on lettuce cultivars were higher than on the cabbages. The results clearly indicate that structure significantly affects residue deposit and dissipation, and pesticide recommendations cannot always be extended to specialty crops without an investigation of the changes in preharvest intervals to prevent violations of the maximum residue limits.

Pyrethroid insecticides were applied on various vegetable crops as foliar treatments to determine dissipation rates. On Chinese broccoli (Guy Lon), Chinese mustard (Pak Choi) and Chinese cabbage (Kasumi, napa), fenvalerate was persistent with residues of 0.10, 0.14 and 0.11 mg kg-1, respectively, by day 21. Cypermethrin residues on head lettuce were below 0.1 mg kg-1 by day 10 but on the leafier romaine and endive varieties it was more persistent and required 14-19 days to dissipate below this concentration. After three applications, residues of cypermethrin in harvested carrots and of permethrin in eggplant were not detected on the day of application. On asparagus, deltamethrin and cypermethrin residues declined to less than 0.1 mg kg-1 by days 1 and 2, respectively; permethrin was more persistent, requiring more than 2 days to decline to less than 0.1 mg kg-1. Deltamethrin on dry (cooking) and Spanish onions was not detected on the day of application. On tomatoes, the concentration of permethrin was 0.093 mg kg-1 on the day of application and declined to about 0.05 mg kg-1 after 2-4 days. In general, permethrin, cypermethrin and deltamethrin residues declined to acceptable concentrations within an acceptable pre-harvest interval. Fenvalerate may be too persistent on these speciality crops unless a maximum residue limit > 0.1 mg kg-1 is permitted.

The distribution of nine pesticides between the juice and pulp of carrots and tomatoes during home culinary practices was investigated. Tomato and carrot pulp contained a higher percentage of all pesticide residues, except for mancozeb in tomatoes. Although there was a difference in the relative distribution of the pesticides between the commodities with greater amounts present in the pulp of tomatoes, the pesticides followed a similar trend in both. A relationship between the pulp/juice distribution and water solubility of the pesticide was apparent. Pesticides with the highest water solubility were present to a greater extent in the juice. An exception was noted in the case of diazinon and parathion, which were present in higher amounts in the pulp than their water solubility would suggest. The percent residue in the pulp ranged from 56.4 to 75.2% for carrots, and 49.7 to 95.4% for tomatoes. Residues in the juice prepared from washed commodities ranged from not detected to 0.83 microgram/g. Washing of the produce removed more residue from carrots than from tomatoes, but it did not affect the relative distribution of the residues. The behaviour and fate of the chemical varied with the pesticide as well as the crop.