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International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/SAgri/12
Safety status of pesticide residues in strawberry fruits cultivated in South Punjab,
Pakistan

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Adnan Amjad* , Muhammad Sohaib , Amir Ismail , Muhammad Sameem Javed , Haq Nawaz ,
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Mohibullah Shah , Rizwan Shukat , Muhammad Rizwan Amjad 5
1 Institute of Food science and Nutrition, Bahauddin Zakariya University-Multan
2 Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition University of Animal and Veterinary
Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
3 Department of Biochemistry, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
4 National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
5 Pest Warning and Quality Control of Pesticides, Lahore-Pakistan
Correspondence: adnanamjad@bzu.edu.pk

Abstract
Multan is one of the biggest city located in South Punjab and there are various strawberry fields
in the Peri-urban areas of Multan. For optimum growth and safety of fruit crops from insect-
pest, different pesticides are usually applied. Thiophanate methyl and pyraclostrobin are the
most frequently applied fungicides found to be adopted by many farmers. The current research
was conducted to assess and monitor the residues of thiophanate methyl and pyraclostrobin
which are heavily applied on strawberry fruit especially in South Punjab, Pakistan.
Comparative study of collected samples from field and market was established. The
QUENCHER (Quick, Easy, New, Cheap and Reproducible) method was adopted for sample
extraction and purification. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with
UV/Visible detector at a wavelength of 220 nm was used for sample analyses. Three various
fields and markets of Multan were randomly selected for sample collection. The mean values
of pyraclostrobin residues collected from fields were found in the range of 0.16 to 1.29 mgkg -
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methyl residues were reported in the range of 0.01 to 0.31 mgkg . It observed that 13 samples
of thiophanate methyl were found beyond the maximum residual limits (MRLs) established by
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European Union (0.1 mgkg ). Whereas pyraclostrobin residues were found in the safe limits
both for field and market samples. It was concluded that thiophanate methyl application needs
to be properly monitored and managed according to its maximum toxicity threshold level.
Although it was also observed that the field samples should not be immediately transferred to
market but a withholding time of around 24 hr should be maintained.
Keywords: pesticides; residues; safety; fruits; risk; health

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

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