“PRESENCES OF PESTICIDES

AND INSECTICIDES IN FRUITS

AND VEGETABLES”

CHEMISTRY PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED BY:
ASWATH S
GRADE: XII

THE INDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL

ERODE-638112
2022-2023
CERTIFICATE
 CERTIFICATE
This to certify that the project work entitled “PRESENCES
OF PESTICIDES AND INSECTICIDES IN FRUITS
AND VEGETABLES” is the bonafide record of work done
by ASWATH S., Exam No: which is submitted as
a partial fulfillment of the requirement for 12 th standard CBSE
Board Examination during the academic year 2022-2023.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Principal
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am overwhelmed in all humbleness and gratefulness to

acknowledge my indebtedness to my family and friends who
helped me put these ideas together.

I am thankful to my guide Mr. Rajasekhar B C for his

valuable help. He was always there to show me a right track
when I needed his help. With his valuable suggestion of the
project topic and his guidance with his encouragement I was
able to execute this project well.
CONTENT
 CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION
In the past decade there has been a tremendous increase in the
yields of various crops to meet the demand of overgrowing
population, achieved by using pesticides and insecticides.
These are chemicals that are sprayed over crop to protect it
from pests. For example, DDT, BHC, zinc phosphide,
Mercuric chloride, dinitrophenol, etc. All pesticides are
poisonous chemicalsandare used in small quantitieswith care.
Pesticides are proven to be effective against variety of insects,
weeds and fungiand are respectively called insecticides,
herbicides and fungicides. Most of the pesticides are non-
biodegradable and remain penetrated as such into plants, fruits
and vegetables. From plants they transfer to animals, birds
and human beings who eat these polluted fruits and
vegetables. Inside the body they get accumulated and cause
serious health problems. These days preference is given
to biodegradable insecticides like Malathion.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A pesticide is a chemical used to prevent, destroy, or repel
pests. Pests can be insects, mice and other animals, weeds,
fungi, or microorganisms such asbacteria andviruses.
Someexamplesofpestsaretermites causing damage to our
homes, dandelions in the lawn, and fleas on our dogs and cats.
Pesticides also are used to kill organisms that can cause
diseases.
Most pesticides contain chemicals that can be harmful to
people, animals, or the environment. For this reason the
Office of Pesticide Programs of the Environmental Protection
Agency regulates pesticides in the United States to protect
public health and the environment.
Uses
Pesticides are used to control organisms that are considered to
be harmful. For example, they are used to kill mosquitoes that
can transmit potentially deadly diseases like West Nile
virus, yellow fever, and malaria. They can also
kill bees, wasps or ants that can cause allergic reactions.
Insecticides can protect animals from illnesses that can be
caused by parasites such as fleas. Pesticides can prevent
sickness in humans that could be caused by moldy food or
diseased produce. Herbicides can be used to clear roadside
weeds, trees and brush. They can also kill invasive weeds that
may cause environmental damage. Herbicides are commonly
applied in ponds and lakes to control algae and plants such as
water grasses that can interfere with activities like swimming
and fishing and cause the water to look or smell
unpleasant. Uncontrolled pests such as termites and mould
can damage structures such as houses. Pesticides are used in
grocery stores and food storage facilities to
manage rodents and insects that infest food such as grain.
Each use of a pesticide carries some associated risk. Proper
pesticide use decreases these associated risks to a level
deemed acceptable by pesticide regulatory agencies such as
the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of
Canada.
Pesticides can save farmers' money by preventing crop losses
to insects and other pests; in the U.S., farmers get an
estimated fourfold return on money they spend on
pesticides. One study found that not using pesticides reduced
crop yields by about 10%.] Another study, conducted in 1999,
found that a ban on pesticides in the United States may result
in a rise of food prices, loss of jobs, and an increase in world
hunger.

What are the health risks?

Most studies of the health effects of pesticides have focused
on occupationally exposed people, like farmworkers and
pesticide applicators. Acute OP pesticide poisonings result in
symptoms like nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, dizziness,
anxiety and confusion, which can be quite severe but are often
reversible. There have also been many studies in groups of
people who work with pesticides but who have not
experienced acute poisonings serious enough to result in these
kinds of symptoms. These studies have found that chronic,
lower dose exposure is associated with respiratory problems,
memory disorders, skin conditions, depression, miscarriage,
birth defects, cancer and neurological conditions such as
Parkinson's disease. There have been fewer studies of people
without known occupational exposures, but one study with a
nationally representative sample showed increasing odds of
ADD/ADHD for 8-15 year olds with
increasing levels of OP pesticides metabolites in urine.1
What Fruits and Vegetables have the most Pesticides?
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes the
Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce that identifies what
types of produce are most likely to be contaminated with
pesticides.2 EWG recommends eating organic versions of
these ‘Dirty Dozen’ fruits and vegetables: apples, celery,
sweet bell peppers, peaches, strawberries, nectarines
(imported), grapes, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, blueberries
(domestic), and potatoes. In addition, EWG recommends
organic green beans and kale. It is worth noting that pesticide
residues can also be found in fruit and vegetable juices. EWG
also lists 15 fruits and vegetables that are lowest in pesticides,
making it safer to eat conventional versions. These include
onions, sweet corn, pineapple, avocado, cabbage, sweet peas,
asparagus, mangoes, eggplant, kiwi, cantaloupe (domestic)
sweet potatoes, grapefruit, watermelon and mushroom

Environmental effect
Pesticide use raises a number of environmental concerns.
Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of herbicides
reach a destination other than their target specie, including
non-target species, air, water and soil. Pesticide drift occurs
when pesticides suspended in the air as particles are carried by
wind to other areas, potentially contamination
them .Pesticides are one of the causes of water pollution, and
some pesticides are persistent organic pollutants and
contribute to soil contamination

Pest control
Many pests have only become a problem as a result of the
direct actions by humans. Modifying these actions can often
substantially reduce the pest problem. In the United
States, raccoons caused a nuisance by tearing open refuse
sacks. Many householders introduced bins with locking lids,
which deterred the raccoons from visiting. House flies tend to
accumulate wherever there is human activity and is virtually a
global phenomenon, especially where food or food waste is
exposed. Similarly, seagulls have become pests at
many seaside resorts. Tourists would often feed the birds with
scraps of fish and chips, and before long, the birds would rely
on this food source and act aggressively towards humans.
Living organisms evolve and increase their resistance to
biological, chemical, physical or any other form of control.
Unless the target population is completely exterminated or is
rendered incapable of reproduction, the surviving population
will inevitably acquire a tolerance of whatever pressures are
brought to bear - this result in an evolutionary arms race.

Insecticide 
An insecticide is a substance used to kill insects.[1] They
include ovicides
and larvicides usedagainstinsect eggs and larvae, respectively.
Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by
consumers. Insecticides are claimed to be a major factor
behind the increase in agricultural 20th century's
productivity. Nearly all insecticides have the potential to
significantly alter ecosystems; many are toxic to humans;
some concentrate along the food chain.

Human Toxicity of Insecticides

In mammals DDT and related organ chlorines have effects on
the endocrine system, including the disruption of thyroid
hormone synthesis and mimicking of the effects of estrogen.
Liver cancer has also been observed in mice exposed to these
substances, and there has been one claimed association
between exposure to DDT and breast cancer. Epidemiological
studies show a consistent connection between exposure to
pesticides and the occurrence of Parkinson's disease in rural
populations. A well-documented effect of some OPs is organ
phosphorus-induced delayed neuropathy, a slowly developing
degeneration of the leg nerves that results in irreversible
limping. A specific hazard of pyrethroids is paresthesia, a
tingling or burning sensation in exposed skin.

Environmental effects
Some insecticides kill or harm other creatures in addition to
those they are intended to kill. For example, birds may be
poisoned when they eat food that was recently sprayed with
insecticides or when they mistake an insecticide granule on
the ground for food and eat it.Sprayed insecticide may drift
from the area to which it is applied and into wildlife areas,
especially when it is sprayed aerially.
Insecticides can kill bees and may be a cause of pollinator
decline, the loss of bees that pollinate plants, and colony
collapse disorder (CCD), in which worker bees from
abeehive or Western honey bee colony abruptly disappear.
Loss of pollinators means a reduction in crop yields. Sublethal
doses of insecticides (i.e. imidacloprid and other
neonicotinoids) affect bee foraging behavior. However,
research into the causes of CCD was inconclusive as of June
2007.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
EXPERIMENT
AIM
To study the presence of insecticides or pesticides (nitrogen
containing) in various fruits and vegetables.

MATERIALS REQUIRED
Mortar and pestle, beakers, funnel, glass rod, and filter paper
china dish, water bath, tripod stand, fusion tube, knife, test
tube. Samples of various fruits and vegetables, alcohol,
sodium metal, ferric chloride, ferrous sulphate crystals,
distilled water and dil. Sulphuric acid.

PROCEDURE
Take different types of fruits and vegetables and cut them into
small pieces separately. Transfer the cut pieces of various
fruits and vegetables into it separately and crush them. Take
different kinds for each kind of fruits and vegetables and place
the crushed fruits and vegetables in these beakers and add 100
ml of alcohol to each of these. Stir well and filter. Collect the
filtrate in separate china dishes, Evaporate the alcohol by
heating the china dishes one by one over a water bath and let
the residue dry in the oven. Heat a small piece of sodium in a
fusion tube, till it melts. Then add one of the above residues
from the china dish to this fusion tube and heat it till red hot.
Drop the hot fusion tube in a china dish containing about 10
ml of distilled water. Break the tube and boil the contents of
the china dish for about 5 minutes. Cool and filter the
solution. Collect the filtrate. To the filtrate add 1 ml of freshly
prepared ferrous sulphate solution and warm the contents.
Then add 2-3 drops of ferric chloride solution and acidify with
dilute HCl. If a blue or green ppt. or colouration is obtained it
indicates the presence of nitrogen containing insecticides.
Repeat the test of nitrogen for residues obtained from other
fruits and vegetables and record the observation.
 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

OBSEVATION

S.NO Name of the Test for the presence Presence of insecticide

fruitOrvegetable ofNitrogen (positive or Or pesticide residues
negative )
1 Apple Positive Yes
2 Grape Positive Yes
3 Brinjal Positive Yes
4 Tomato Positive Yes

From the above observation, it revealed that fruits and

vegetables contain insecticides and pesticides added to protect
us but it too affects us a lot.
 CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION
Thus by this research on this project to determine the presence
of insecticide and pesticides in fruits and vegetables helps us
know that almost every fruits and vegetables contains
chemical in it. For example insecticides can be kill bees and
may be cause of pollinator decline, the loss of bees that
pollinate plants, and colony collapse disorder (CCD), in which
worker bees from a beehive or Western honey bee colony
abruptly disappear. Loss of pollinators means a reduction in
crop yields. Sub lethal doses of insecticides (i.e imidacloprid
and other neoicotinoids affect bee foraging behavior. We can
understand that the same happens to us when we consume
more of it.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 T. Cairns,J. Sherma (Editors),Emerging Strategiesfor
Pesticide Analysis, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida,
USA, 1992.
 J.L. Moreno, F.J. Liebanas, A.G. Frenich, J.L. Vidal,
J. Chromatogr.,A 1111 (2006) 97.
 M. Jokanovic´, Toxicol. Lett. 190 (2009) 107.
 M. Jokanovic´, Toxicology 166 (2001) 139.
 J. Zhang, H.K.Lee, J. Chromatogr., A 1117 (2006) 31.
 E.N. Papadakis, Z. Vryzas, E. Papadopoulou-
Mourkidou, J. Chromatogr., A 1127 (2006) 6.
 S. Chen, L. Shi, Z. Shan, Q. Hu, Food Chem. 104
(2007) 1315.
 A. Adeyeye, O. Osibanjo, Sci. TotalEnviron. 23
(1999) 227.
 M.L. Escuderos-Morenas, M.J. Santos-Delgado, S.
Rubio-Barroso,L.M. Polo-Diez, J. Chromatogr., A
1011 (2003) 143.
 http://ec.europa.eu/sanco_pesticides/public/
index.cfm>(accessed March 2010).