Pesticide Residue in Vegetables from Collection Centers of Different Districts in Nepal

Abstract

Pesticide residues in vegetables pose a significant public health concern in Nepal, where systematic residue monitoring remains limited. This study assessed the occurance of pesticide residues in commonly consumable vegetables collected from major collection centres across Nepal and examined their statistical association with selected post-harvest quality parameters. Vegetable samples collected from different collection centers around Nepal were subjected to Rapid Bioassay of Pesticide Residue (RBPR) test kit to examine residue of Carbamate, Organophosphate, Synthetic-Pyrethroid and Dithiocarbamate.  71% of samples were detected with synthetic pyrethroid followed by dithiocarbamate (25%), organophosphate (3%) and none with carbamate. 2% of sample were found at hazardous level of organophosphate, 50% of synthetic-pyrethroid and 2% for dithiocarbamate at unsafe level. The research findings indicate the presence of pesticide residues in common vegetables and recommend validation, comparison and assessment with acknowledging the limitation of preliminary screening RBPR and following other advance test with larger sample sizes.