Determination of mepiquat chloride in cotton crops and soil and its dissipation rates

A simple, accurate and highly sensitive analytical method was developed in this study for determining the residues and dissipation dynamics of mepiquat chloride in soil and cotton crops (including plant and seed). The samples in this method were directly extracted with methanol-ammonium acetate solution and followed by analysis of high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The intra-day and inter-day recoveries of mepiquat chloride were in the range of 76.58-98.87 percent and 73.48-104.7 percent with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.89-5.04 percent and 3.84-10.7 percent, respectively. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.05mgkg(-1) for soil and 0.1mgkg(-1) for cotton plant and seed. The half-life of mepiquat chloride in cotton plants and in soil was 2.51-3.85 days and 7.56-10.50 days, respectively. The final residues of mepiquat chloride in all cotton seeds were below the MRLs of EU (5mgkg(-1)), Japan and America (2mgkg(-1)) over 14 days after the last spraying, and were below 1mgkg(-1) (the MRLs set by Argentina and Australia) over 21 days after the last spraying at recommended dosage. The final residues in soil were below the LOD (0.01mgkg(-1)) over 21 days after the last spraying.