Dissipation behavior of the fungicide tebuconazole in strawberries using liquid chromatograph tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), a dryland ecosystem-based study

Fungal diseases like downy and powdery mildews are a risk of high importance for strawberry cultivation in Egypt. In the current work, the dissipation behaviour of tebuconazole, a triazole fungicide widely used worldwide, was studied and the safety to the consumers from the terminal residues in the fruits was estimated. Supervised trials on open field strawberries were concluded using the authorised and more critical agricultural practices. Residues were measured at several PHIs using an LC-MS/MS methodology with an extraction procedure based on the QuEChERS protocol. The method was successfully validated with an LOQ of 0.001 mg kg(-1). In all PHIs investigated a consumer risk was not identified. A decline of tebuconazole residues in fruits fit a first-order decay process with a degradation of 81% after 14 days and a calculated t(1/2) of 6.3 days