Fruits are the valuable and important components of human diet. Among them, Prunus persica is a rich source of different minerals and dietary fibers. In Pakistan, the total annual production of P. persica is approximately 837,000 tons. In order to enhance agricultural yield and quality, the plant protection agents are employed during fruit production. Ultimately, this in turn leads to the incorporation of pesticide residues in fruits. In present study, an effort has been made for the determination of three selected pesticide residues, i.e., chlorpyrifos (CPF), difenoconazole (DFN), and carbendazim (CRB) in samples of P. persica collected from Swat territory. Samples were analyzed through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results revealed the occurrence of all three pesticides in studied samples; however, levels of CPF and DFN were found to be higher than MRLs. Moreover, the effects of different mitigation techniques revealed that highest reduction of CPF, DFN, and CRB (86%, 97%, 89%) residues was obtained by treatment with 10% CH3COOH followed by 10% NaCl (74%, 78%, 84%). The lowest reduction was obtained by treatment with 10% solution of NaOH (52%, 55%, 63%).
Keywords: Acetic acid; Carbendazim; Chlorpyrifos; Difenoconazole; HPLC; Prunus persica.