Comparative hygienic study of the content of certain pesticides in agricultural products of farms and private farms

Abstract

The article presents the results of a comparative hygienic study of the content of organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in agricultural products of farms and private farms in the Saratov region. A study of the content of chlorine and organophosphorus pesticides in nine ecologically disadvantaged regions of the region was conducted. Quantitative analysis of the determination of pesticides in local food products was analyzed by thin-layer chromatography. The content of organochlorine pesticides in food samples grown in ecologically disadvantaged areas and sent to the retail chain for sale, as well as for domestic use as local food, did not have statistically meaningful distinctions in regard to their contamination. In the studied samples of food products grown in farmers’ fields and produced on the land of private farms was found a significant difference in content of organophosphorus pesticides and herbicides. Thus, the content of the organophosphorus insecticide — chlorpyrifos used by farms for aviation chemical protection of plants from the spread of pests in vegetable products reached the maximum acceptable levels and, on the contrary, the concentration of chlorpyrifos in agricultural products of personal subsidiary farms was no more than 50 % of the permissible level. On the contrary, the widespread use of malathion has found application in the processing of agricultural products only on the lands of personal subsidiary plots. The level of its content in vegetable products ranged from 10–20 % to the maximum allowable and depended on the areas of cultivation of agricultural products. In arid areas, with a significant number of insect pests, the insecticide content in vegetable products was maximum. The studied herbicides were detected only in vegetable products grown on the fields of farms. At the same time, the glyphosate content in vegetable products significantly varied in different studied ecologically unfavorable territories. Its highest content in concentrations of the maximum permissible level was detected in agricultural products of the arid Zavolzhsky districts and, on the contrary, in the right bank and areas with a wide land reclamation system, the herbicide concentration ranged from 30 to 50 % of the permissible level. All the concentrations of chlorine and organophosphorus pesticides and herbicides in the local products established in the study, produced both on the lands of personal subsidiary plots and on farm fields, did not exceed the permissible values.