Comparative assessment of pesticide residues in grain, soil, and water from IPM and non-IPM trials of basmati rice

The integrated pest management (IPM) modules of pesticide schedule on Basmati rice were validated at field experiments conducted in Northern India for consecutive 3 years (2005-2008). The pesticide residues were found below the detectable limit (< 0.01-0.001 mg/kg) in soil and irrigation water samples of Kaithal region. In Dehra Dun region of Uttrakhand, the residues of carbendazim in rice grains and soil were detected below < 0.01 mg/kg level. In second year experiments (2006-2007), only four non-IPM soil samples indicated the presence of chlorpyrifos and endosulfan in the range of ND < 0.001 to 0.07 mg/kg, out of 45 samples analyzed. Carbendazim applied as seed treatment at Dehradun and Kaithal field trials was found below detectable limit in both IPM and non-IPM rice grains (< 0.01 mg/kg) and irrigation water (0.01 mu l/ml). Chlorpyrifos was detected in five water samples from Kaithal and one from Pant Nagar in the range of 0.003-0.006 mu l/L, alpha- and beta-isomer of endosulfan in the range of 0.005-0.03, and 0.005-0.02 mu l/ml, respectively, in one sample from Pant Nagar and two from Kaithal, out of a total of 22 samples. In the region of Uttrakhand and Uttar Pradesh during 2007-2008, four non-IPM samples of soil indicated trace levels of endosulfan, out of 16 samples analyzed. The residues were detected below detection limit for carbendazim (< 0.01 mg/kg) in soil samples of Dehradun IPM fields and for endosulfan and carbendazim (0.001-0.01 mu l/L) in water samples each from IPM and non-IPM fields of Uttar Pradesh. The results of 3-year trials of IPM module indicated basmati rice as safe and economical with pesticide residue-free rice grains.