Screening of Selected Vegetables from Wudil, Farmlands In Kano State, Nigeria for Organophosphorus and Organochlorine Pesticide Residues.

Abstract

Improper pesticide use in Agriculture in rural areas portends huge health hazard to humans and other biological life forms. This present study was aimed at screening four vegetables randomly sampled from selected farmlands in Wudil, Kano State of Nigeria for pesticide residues and their derivatives with intention of determining possible contamination from pesticides residues. The extraction was carried out by standard procedures and the identification and quantification of pesticide residues were carried out by GC-MS analysis. The result revealed chlorpyrifos (an organophosphorus) as the only known active pesticide residue detected in all four vegetables. The mean levels detected were 1.42, 1.69, 1.86 and 2.10mg/kg of sample for spinach, carrot, cabbage and garden egg, respectively. The levels of chlorpyrifos detected in all four vegetables were significantly higher (p