INSECTICIDE RESIDUES IN POTATOES AFTER SOIL TREATMENTS FOR CONTROL OF WIREWORMS

Abstract

Chemical analyses and insect bioassays showed residues of less than 0.1 p.p.m. of aldrin, chlordane, dieldrin, and heptachlor in the pulp of early potatoes grown in a Berrien sandy loam soil treated for control of the eastern field wireworm, Limonius agonus (Say). The insecticides had been applied at the rate of 5 pounds of toxicant per acre, 3, 15, or 27 months before harvesting the potatoes. Mammalian feeding trials showed that the residues in the potatoes did not cause any gross or histopathological changes in guinea pigs and rats.