Chemistry project
Presence of pesticides in fruits
and vegetables
Submitted by,
Divyesh.M
Nigazhenthan.s
Tamizh amudhan.s
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THEORY
EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT
CLASSIFICATION
a) Herbicides
b) Fungicides
c) Rodenticides
d) Insecticides
Requirements
Experiment procedure
Observation
Conclusion
Bibliography
INDROUCTION:
Pesticides are a numerous and diverse
group of chemical compounds which are
used to eliminate pests in agriculture
and households. They enable the
quantities and quality of crops and food
to be controlled, and help to limit the
many human diseases transmitted b
insect or rodent vector. However,
despite their many merits, pesticides are
some of the most toxic; environmentally
stable and mobile substances in the
environment.
Pesticides are of enormous importance
in increasing the yields and quality of
agricultural products. They are used to:
Control the number of pests
destroying whole plants or their
parts.
Increase the production of animals
and plant biomass.
Kill the harmful organisms in farm
buildings, the home, hospitals, stores
and vehicles.
The widespread use of pesticides not
only contaminates water, soil and air,
but also causes them to accumulate
in crops (eg.: fruits and vegetables).
THEORY
In the decade, there has been a
tremendous increase in the guilds
of various crops to meet the
demand of our growing world
population. This tmethod of forming
and by expensive use of fertilizers
and insecticides.
Pesticides may be a chemical
substances, biological agent
antimiobial disinfectant or device
used against any pest.
Pest Includes insects, plant
pathogens insects, mollusks, birds,
mammals, fish nematodes and
microbus that destroy property,
spread disease or are vector for
disease or cause a nuisance.
Farmers use insecticides to protect
their crops from insect damage. In
urban areas, public health officials
use them to fight mosquitoes and
those insect carry germs. People
use insecticides to control pests and
ants and cockroaches.
Effects on
environment:
Pesticides have many advantages,
but they also do much harm to the
environment. In view of both
positive and negative effects of
pesticides : we should aim to
achieve full selectivity of their
action.
Each year 140000 tones of
pesticides are sprayed on to crops
in the European Union (EU) alone.
Fruit and vegetables are the crops
most likely to be contaminated by
pesticides, particularly grapes,
citrus fruits and potatoes.
The diversity of their chemical
structures, action and which can be
categorized :
Toxicity
Purpose of application
Chemical structure
Environment stability and
The pathways by which they
penetrate target organisms
Structurally, they can be divided
into inorganic and organic
compounds the inorganic include
arsenic insecticides, fluoride,
insecticides, inorganic herbicides
and inorganic fungicides, while
the organic comprise
organochlorine, organs
phosphorous and organonitrogen
pesticides
Organo phosphorous pesticides
(opps),(e,g: fenitrothion
malathion) are the principal
group of compounds used to
protect plants. They include all
organic compounds containing
phosphorous and are used to
combat pests in industrial
plantations, orchards and
vegetable cultivation. Opps
usually have an ester structure,
decomposing fairly easily on the
surfaces and interior of plants ,
and in soil. The use of pesticides
decreases the general
biodiversity in the soil. Soil
quality is higher without
chemicals and this allows for
higher water retention,
necessary for plants to grow.
Plant is necessary for the
growth of many large plants, is
hindered by pesticides that can
be found in soil. This can lead
to a large decline in crop yields.
Application of pesticides to
crops that are in bloom can kill
honeybees, which act as
pollinators.
Classification:
Pesticides classified according to
the pests they control. The four
main types of pesticides are
fungicid
herbicides es
o
PESTICIDES
insecticid
rodenticide
s es
Herbicides
Herbicides eliminate plant threats
grow where they are not wanted.
Frames use them to reduce weeds
in such public areas as parks and
ponds.
ADVANTAGES:
Herbicides can control weeds
where other methods are
impossible due to plant
arrangement or timing.
Reduces number of tillage
operations required, which can
protect the soil and
environment. This also results in
decreased fuel costs and lower
carbon emission
Reduces human effort required
to manage weeds.
Disadvantages:
Herbicides can be expensive to
apply.
Applying herbicides can require
a pesticide applicator’s license
and some special equipment.
There can be negative effects
on non target organisms,
including toxicities to humans.
Herbicide resistance in weed
populations rocan develop,
making the herbicide
ineffective.
FUNGICIDES:
Certain fungi cause disease and
may infect both plants and animals
including human beings. Fungicides
control plant diseases that infect
food-crops-wood used for building
houses in often berated with
fungicides to prevent dry not.
ADVANTAGES:
It is specially used to kill fungi or
insects in plants.
Fungicides prevent or stop their
growth.
Pasts or insects can cause severe
damage in agriculture.
This thing can be used in
agriculture and fight fungal
infections in plants.
Fungicides can prevent fungi
growth without damaging the
crop.
Disadvantages;
Fungicides will become less
effective against surviving fungi
from pervious application.
Best to rotate materials or
fungicides with different modes
of action to avoid fungi
resistance.
Harmful to beneficial insects like
bees and possibly the
environment.
Fungicides including throat
irritation, sneezing, and
coughing.
Saaf fungicides is effective
against all stages of fungal
Rodenticides
Colloquially “Rat poison” is typically
non-specific pest control chemicals
made and sold for the purpose of
killing rodents. Some rodenticides
are lethal after on exposure while
others require more than one.
Rodents are disinclined to gorge on
an unknown food, preferring to
sample wait and observe whether it
makes them or other rats sick.
Advantages:
With rodenticides, you can
control and get rid of more pests
with less bait.
Child resistant-some rodenticide
bait stations
Rodenticide toxicity symptoms
are more variable and are
dependent on the chemical and
dose.
Disadvantages:
These are toxic products that
cause severe health damage and
even death in nontarget wildlife,
pets and people.
Because of their toxicity and the
weak safety standards for their
use and distribution,
rodenticides are a serious threat
to any living thing that
accidentally ingests them.
o IT
o
insecticides:
Farmers use insecticides to protect
their crops from insect damage.
People use insecticides indoor to
control pests and ant and
cockroaches.
o
o
Advantages:
Insecticides improve the quality of
crops.
Consumers expect to get pest-free
fruits and vegetables and
insecticides directly play a role in
ensuring the crop quality isn’t
hampered by insects.
Controlling agricultural pests
(including diseases and weeds)
and vectors of plant diseases.
Disadvantages:
Non-target organisms-Insecticides
can kill more than intended
organisms and are risky to
humans.
When insecticides mix with water
sources through leaching , drift ,
or run off, they harm
Aquatic wildlife.
When birds drink such
contaminated water and eat
affected insects, they die.
eeeV
o
o
o
oV
Experiment
procedure:
Heat a small piece of dry sodium
in fusion tubes, till it melts. Then
add take different kinds of fruits
and vegetables and cry them into
small piece separately.
Transfer the cut of piece various
fruits and vegetables and cut
them into small piece separately.
Take different beaker of each kind
of fruits and vegetables and place
the crushed fruits and vegetables
in these beakers, and add 10ml of
alcohol to each of these.
Evaporate the alcohol by heating
china dishes one by one over
water bath and let the residue dry
in an oven. And filter collect the
filtrate in separate china dishes.
One of the above residue from
china dish to the fusion tube in
china dish containing about 110mll
of distilled water. Break the tube
and boil the contents of the china
dish of about 5 minutes to cool
and filter solution. Collect the
filtrate.
To the filtrate add 1ml freshly
prepared ferrous sulphate solution
and acidity with the dilute HCL
acid, if a blue or green precipitate
or coloration is obtained, it
indicated the presence of nitrogen
containing insecticide.
Repeat the test of nitrogen for
residue obtained from other fruits
and vegetables and record
observations.
Observation:
Test for
Name of presenc Presence of
Serial
fruit/veg e of insecticides/
no.
etable nitroge pesticide
n
Positiv
1 Tomato Yes
e
Positiv
2 Grapes Yes
e
Negati
3 Carrot No
ve
4 Potato Positiv Yes
e
Conclusion:
Thus from the above experiment
we conclude that fruits and
vegetable that we consume
especially grapes, tomato, and
potato contain nitrogen
insecticides and pesticides.
Bibliography:
1) [Link]
2) [Link]
Thank you