CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

PRESENCE OF PESTICIDES IN FRUITS AND

VEGETABLES

BY:
F JENIX JEBARAJ
XII-A
 EMERALD VALLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL
SALEM – 636008

This is to certify that ____________________________________ of

class XII has done the Investigatory Project on the topic

___________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________

in the Chemistry Laboratory during the year 2022-23.

Signature of the Teacher_____________________________________

Signature of the Principal___________________________________

 Acknowledgement

It would be my utmost pleasure to express my sincere

gratitude to my Chemistry Teacher Gayathri.K, for her vital
support, guidance and encouragement without which this
project would not have come forth. I would also like to
thank my parents who encouraged me to put forward my
project. Last but not the least I offer my sincere thanks to
all my peers and those who have helped me to make this
project.
 CONTENTS

1.Abstract

2. Introduction

3. Effects on environment

4. Theory

5. History

6. Classification

7. Alternative pest control method

8. Requirements

9. Procedure

10. Observation

11. Conclusion
 ABSTRACT

The intensive development of agriculture means that more

and more toxic organic and inorganic compounds are
entering the environment because of their widespread
use, stability, selective toxicity and bioaccumulation.
Pesticides are among the most toxic substances
contaminating the environment which is particularly
dangerous in fruits and vegetables by which people are
exposed to them, it is therefore crucial to monitor
pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables using all
available analytical methods. We present results from the
literature in the context of maximum residue levels of
target pesticides in fruits and vegetables samples.
 INTRODUCTION

Pesticides are chemical substances that are meant to kill

pests. In general, a pesticide is a chemical or a biological
agent such as a virus, bacterium, antimicrobial, or
disinfectant that deters, incapacitates, kills, pests.

The use of pesticides is so common that the term pesticide

is often treated synonymous with plant protection
product. It is commonly used to eliminate or control a
variety of agricultural pests that can damage crops and
livestock and reduce farm productivity

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has defined

pesticide as: any substance or mixture of substances
intended for preventing, destroying or controlling any
pest, including vectors of human or animal disease,
unwanted species of plants or animals, causing harm
during or otherwise interfering with the production,
processing, storage, transport, or marketing of food,
agricultural commodities, wood and wood products or
animal feedstuffs, or substances that may be administered
to animals for the control of insects, arachnids, or other
pests in or on their bodies.
Benefits of pesticides
The major advantage of pesticides is that they can save
farmer by protecting crops from insects and other pests.
However, below are some other primary benefits of it.
• Controlling pests and plant disease vectors.
• Controlling human/livestock disease vectors and
nuisance organisms.
• Controlling organisms that harm other human
activities and structures.
• Improve crop yields
• Improve crop/livestock quality
• Increase the production of animal and plant biomass
Effects of pesticides
There are numerous health hazards linked to the use of
pesticides. Pesticides can have grave effects on the health
of anybody consuming fruits or vegetables highly
contaminated with pesticides.

• Several reports suggest that high levels of pesticides

in food can lead to the development of diseases such
as cancer, kidney and lung ailments. Children have
developing organs, prone to catching infections and
diseases. Any exposure to these high chemical
residues can lead to childhood cancers, mental health
problems such as autism and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder
• The toxic chemicals in these are designed to be
deliberately released into the environment. Though
each pesticide is meant to kill a certain pest, a very
large percentage of pesticides reach a destination
other than their target. Instead, they enter the air,
water, sediments, and even end up in our food.
• Pesticides have been linked with human health
hazards, from short-term impacts such as headaches
 and nausea to chronic impacts like cancer,
reproductive harm.
• The use of these also decreases the general
biodiversity in the soil. If there are no chemicals in
the soil there is higher soil quality, and this allows for
higher water retention, which is necessary for plants
to grow.

EFFECTS ON ENVIRONMENT

Pesticides are toxic chemicals designed to be deliberately

released into the environment. Although each pesticide is
meant to kill a certain pest, a very large percentage of
pesticides reach a destination other than their target.
Pesticides easily contaminate the air, ground and water
when they run off from fields, escape storage tanks, are
not discarded properly, and especially when they are
sprayed aerially
WATER
Pesticides can be found in rain, ground water, streams,
rivers, lakes and oceans.
There are four major ways that pesticides can reach the
water:
 • It can drift outside of the area of where it was
sprayed,
• It can leach through the soil,
• It can be carried as runoff,
• It may be spilled accidentally.
Studies by the UK government show that pesticide
concentrations exceed those allowable for drinking water
in some samples of river water and groundwater.

SOIL
The use of pesticides decreases the general biodiversity in
the soil. Soil quality is higher without chemicals and this
allows for higher water retention, necessary for plants to
grow.
PLANTS
Nitrogen fixation, which is necessary for the growth of
many large plants, is hindered by pesticides that can be
found in soil. This can lead to a large decline in crop yields.
Application of pesticides to crops that are in bloom can kill
honeybees, which act as pollinators. This also decreases
crop pollination and reproduction.
ANIMALS
Animals may be poisoned by pesticide residues that
remain on food after spraying. An application of pesticides
in an area can eliminate food sources that certain types of
animals need, causing the animals to relocate, change their
diet, or starve. Poisoning from pesticides can even make
its way up the food chain; for example, birds can be
harmed when they eat insects and worms that have
consumed pesticides.

BIRDS

There is evidence that birds are being harmed by pesticide

use. Rachel Carson’s ‘Book silent’ spring discusses the loss
of several bird species due to accumulation of pesticides in
their tissues. Types of fungicides used in farming are only
slightly toxic to birds and mammals, but may kill off
earthworms, which can in turn reduce populations of the
birds and mammals that feed on them. Additionally,
as some pesticides come in granular form, birds and other
wildlife may eat the granules, mistaking them for grains of
food. A few granules of a pesticide are enough to kill a
small bird.
AQUATIC LIFE
Fish and other aquatic biota may be harmed by pesticide-
contaminated water. Application of herbicides to bodies of
water can cause plants to die, diminishing the water’s
oxygen and suffocating the fish. Repeated exposure of
some pesticides can cause physiological and behavioral
changes in fish that reduce populations, such as
abandonment of nests, decreased immunity to disease,
and increased failure to avoid predators.

EFFECT ON HUMAN
Exposure to pesticides can occur in many ways. Farmers
and farm workers can be exposed to pesticides in
agriculture through the treatment of crops, plants and
grain stores. Rural residents living next door to farms can
be exposed to pesticide drift. Exposure can also occur in
forestry, professional and domestic pest control, through
the treatment of wood with preservatives, the treatment
of boat hulls with anti-fouling agents, and the treatment of
livestock with anti-parasitic preparations, e.g., sheep dip.
In our towns and cities, we are exposed to pesticides
through the spraying of amenities, such as our parks,
pavements and playgrounds. Many people buy pesticides
off the shelf for home and garden use. And finally,
pesticide residues found on, and in, our food also puts us
at risk

ACUTE TOXICITY
Pesticides can be acutely toxic. This means that they can
cause harmful or lethal effects after a single episode of
ingestion, inhalation or skin contact. The symptoms are
evident shortly after exposure or can arise within 48
hours. They can present as:
• respiratory tract irritation, sore throat and/or cough
• allergic sensitization
• eye and skin irritation
• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
• headache, loss of consciousness
 • extreme weakness, seizures and/or death

CHRONIC TOXICITY
Pesticides can cause harmful effects over an extended
period, usually following repeated or continuous exposure
at low levels. Low doses don’t always cause immediate
effects, but over time, they can cause very serious
illnesses. Long term pesticide exposure has been linked to
the development of Parkinson’s disease; asthma;
depression and anxiety; attention deficit and hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD); and cancer, including leukaemia and
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
 THEORY
In the decade, there has been a tremendous increase in the
guilds of various crops to meet the demand of our growing
world population. This great feat has been achieved by
adopting new methods of farming and by expensive use of
fertilizers and insecticides.
A pesticide is any substance is mixture of substance
intended for preventing, destroying repelling or mitigating
any pest. A pesticide may be a chemical substance,
biological agent antimicrobial disinfectant or device used
against any pest.
Pests includes insects, plant pathogens insects, molluscs,
birds, mammals, fish nematodes and microbus that
destroy property, spread disease or are a vector for
disease or cause a nuisance. The term includes substances
intended for use as a plant growth regulator, defoliant,
desiccant or agent for thinning fruit or preventing the
premature fall of fruit and substances applied to crops
either before or after harvest to protect the commodity
from deterioration during storage and transport.
 HISTORY
Pesticides are not recent inventions! Many ancient
civilizations used pesticides to protect their crops from
insects and pests. Ancient Sumerians used
elemental sulphur to protect their crops from insects.
Whereas, Medieval farmers experimented with chemicals
using arsenic, lead on common crops.

The Chinese used arsenic and mercury compounds to

control body lice and other pests. While, the Greeks and
Romans used oil, ash, sulphur, and other materials to
protect themselves, their livestock, and their crops from
various pests.

Meanwhile, in the nineteenth century, researchers focused

more on natural techniques involving compounds made
with the roots of tropical vegetables and chrysanthemums.
In 1939, Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) was
discovered, which has become extremely effective and
rapidly used as the insecticide in the world. However,
twenty years later, due to biological effects and human
safety, DDT has been banned in almost 86 countries.
 CLASSIFICATION
Pesticides are grouped according to the types of pests
which they kill:
• Insecticides – insects
• Herbicides – plants
• Rodenticides – rodents (rats & mice)
• Fungicides – fungi
1.INSECTICIDES
These consist of chemicals that attack the nervous system
of the pests. Breaking down of the nervous system of the
pests helps gain a rapid inhibition.
2. HERBICIDES
These are used to inhibit the growth of weeds. They
disturb the conducive conditions for reactions that are
responsible for the growth of the plant.
3.RODENTICIDES
They are chemicals used to control rats, mice and other
rodents. Chemicals which control other mammals, birds
and fish are also grouped in this category by regulatory
agencies.
4.FUNGICIDES
These act either by limiting the development of fungi or by
elimination the fungus completely. except for the
inorganic salts, almost all the fungicides currently in
market decay in soil in the presence of air
SURVEY REPORT ON USE OF PESTICIDES
 ALTERNATIVES IN PEST CONTROL
Continuing problems arising from the wide spread use of
board spectrum insecticide creates a dilemma how best to
control pest and at the same time how to remove
environmental hazards.
Restrictions on use of pesticides and the substitution of
pests on controlling use of pesticides is by far the best
method. Many countries have limited or banned the use of
DDT and other chlorinated hydro carbons insecticide but
this group of chemicals is widely used mainly in the third
world countries.
The US department of agriculture has campaigned for the
safe use of pesticides but from environment point of view
no broad-spectrum biocide can be used. Traditional
insecticides such as pyrethrum or non-persistent
chemicals such as carbonate sevin are now very widely
used and totally new types of pest control are useful in
particular cases. For example, the autodial (sub
destroying) techniques makes use of sterilized males’
population. Large – scale rearing, radiation sterilizing and
release programme are now major effects of the US
Department of agriculture and are highly effective in
restricted situations. Control of insects by synthetic
growth hormones is also effective in limited situations but
is better described as on active area of biological research
than a general alternative to pesticide use. The technique
uses extracts of juvenile hormone or their synthesized
mimics
AIM
To study the presence of pesticides in various fruits and
vegetables
REQUIREMENTS
• Mortar and pestle
• Beakers
• funnel
• glass rod
• Filter paper
• China dish
• Fusion tubes
• Water bath
• Tripod stand
• Test tubes
• Sample of fruits and vegetables
• Alcohol
• Sodium metal
• Ferric chloride solution
• Ferrous sulphate crystals
• Distilled water
• Dilute 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 coloration 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.

OBSERVATION

S.NO NAME OF THE TEST FOR PRESENCE OF

FRUIT/VEGETABLE PRESENCE OF PESTICIDES /
NITROGEN INSECTICIDE
1 Tomato +ve Yes
2 Grapes +ve Yes
3 Carrot -ve No
4 Potato +ve Yes

CONCLUSION

Thus, from the above experiment we conclude that the

fruits and vegetables that we consume especially grapes,
tomato and potato contain nitrogen containing
insecticides and pesticides.