AMRITA VIDYALAYAM PALAKKAD

Venoli Road Kottekkad P.O. Palakkad-678732

Ph: -0491 2520639
Website: plkd.amritavidyalayam.org
Email: avplkd@gmail.com

CERTIFICATE

ावान् लभते ानम्

This is to certify that this project report entitled "Study of
Presence of Insecticides and Pesticides on fruits and
vegetables" is a bonafide record of the successful completion of
project work done by ___________________ OF CLASS XII IN
CHEMISTRY.

_________ _______________ __________

Principal Teacher in charge Examiner

Place: - ______________
Date: - ___/___/20___
Register no: - _____________

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The feeling of acknowledgement and expressing it in
words are two things apart; it is a weakness but we
honestly admit that when we truly wish to express our
warm gratitude and indebtedness. We would firstly like to
express our gratitude towards Sadguru MATA
AMRITANANDAMAYI DEVI whose blessing helped us in
completing this project. We also thank our Principal Bruh.
SUNITHA Ma for her complete support in all our
academic activities. We’d also like express our respect and
heartfelt gratitude to our Chemistry teacher Mrs.
SUDHA Ma and Lab Assistant Mrs. Beena Ma for her
valuable guidance. Last, but certainly not the least, a word
of gratitude to our family and friends who were always
there with their support and encouragement and helped
in our endeavours, despite their busy schedule. Any
omission from this acknowledgement does not mean lack
of gratitude from our side.

Thanking you,
Midhun

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 STUDY OF PRESENCE OF
INSECTICIDES AND
PESTICIDES ON FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES

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INTRODUCTION
A pesticide is any substance used to kill, repel, or control certain
forms of plant or animal life that are considered to be pests.
Pesticides include herbicides for destroying weeds and other
unwanted vegetation, insecticides for controlling a wide variety
of insects, fungicides used to prevent the growth of molds and
mildew, disinfectants for preventing the spread of bacteria, and
compounds used to control mice and rats. Because of the
widespread use of agricultural chemicals in food production,
people are exposed to low levels of pesticide residues through
their diets. Scientists do not yet have a clear understanding of
the health effects of these pesticide residues. The Agricultural
Health Study, an ongoing study of pesticide exposures in farm
families, also posts results online. People may also be exposed
to pesticides used in a variety of settings including homes,
schools, hospitals, and workplaces.

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IMPORTANT USES OF PESTICIDES
o Pesticides ensure bountiful harvests.
o Can eliminate disease causing rodents and insects.
o Pesticides help keep food affordable.
o Pesticides help reduce waterborne and insect-transmitted
diseases in fruits and vegetables.
o Herbicides remove the hardship of hand-weeding.
o It improves the economy of developing countries by
providing good yields consistently.
o Surgical instruments and operating rooms are disinfected
with pesticides, according to the Environmental Protection
Agency.

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EFFECTS OF PESTICIDES ON OUR
ENVIRONMENT
o AIR
Pesticides can contribute to air pollution. Pesticide drift
occurs when pesticides suspended in the air as particles are
carried by wind to other areas, potentially contaminating
them. Pesticides that are applied to crops can volatilize and
may be blown by winds into nearby areas, potentially posing
a threat to wildlife. Weather conditions at the time of
application as well as temperature and relative humidity
change the spread of the pesticide in the air. As wind
velocity increases so does the spray drift and exposure. Low
relative humidity and high temperature result in more spray
evaporating. The amount of inhalable pesticides in the
outdoor environment is therefore often dependent on the
season. Also, droplets of sprayed pesticides or particles
from pesticides applied as dusts may travel on the wind to
other areas or pesticides may adhere to particles that blow
in the wind, such as dust particles. Pesticides that are
sprayed on to fields and used to fumigate soil can give off
chemicals called volatile organic compounds, which can
react with other chemicals and form a pollutant called
ground level ozone. Pesticide use accounts for about 6
percent of total ground level ozone levels.

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o WATER
Pesticides were found to pollute every stream and over 90%
of wells sampled in a study by the US Geological Survey.
Pesticide residues have also been found in rain and
groundwater. Studies by the UK government showed that
pesticide concentrations exceeded those allowable for
drinking water in some samples of river water and
groundwater. Pesticide impacts on aquatic systems are
often studied using a hydrology transport model to study
movement and fate of chemicals in rivers and streams. As
early as the 1970s quantitative analysis of pesticide runoff
was conducted to predict amounts of pesticide that would
reach surface waters.

o SOIL
The extensive use of pesticides in agricultural production
can degrade and damage the community of
microorganisms living in the soil, particularly when these
chemicals are overused or misused as chemical compounds
build up in the soil. The full impact of pesticides on soil
microorganisms is still not entirely understood; many
studies have found deleterious effects of pesticides on soil
microorganisms and biochemical processes, while others
have found that the residue of some pesticides can be
degraded and assimilated by microorganisms. The effect of
pesticides on soil microorganisms is impacted by the
persistence, concentration, and toxicity of the applied
pesticide, in addition to various environmental factors.
Many of the chemicals used in pesticides are persistent

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soil contaminants, whose impact may endure for
decades and adversely affect soil conservation.
Degradation and sorption are both factors which influence
the persistence of pesticides in soil.

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HARMFUL EFFECTS ON LIVING
ORGANISMS
o PLANTS
Pesticides have some direct harmful effect on plant
including poor root hair development, shoot yellowing and
reduced plant growth. Nitrogen Fixation which is required
for the growth of higher plants, is hindered by pesticides in
soil. DDT, methyl parathion, and especially
pentachlorophenol have been shown to interfere with
legume-rhizobium chemical signaling. Reduction of this
symbiotic chemical signaling results in reduced nitrogen
fixation and thus reduced crop yields. Root nodule
formation in these plants saves the world economy $10
billion in synthetic nitrogen fertilizer every year.

o ANIMALS
Pesticides can eliminate some animals' essential food
sources, causing the animals to relocate, change their diet
or starve. Residues can travel up the food chain; for example,
birds can be harmed when they eat insects and worms that
have consumed pesticides. Earthworms digest organic
matter and increase nutrient content in the top layer of soil.
They protect human health by ingesting decomposing litter
and serving as bioindicators of soil activity. Pesticides have
had harmful effects on growth and reproduction on
earthworms. Some pesticides can bioaccumulate, or build
up to toxic levels in the bodies of organisms that consume
them over time.

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o BIRDS
72 million birds are killed by pesticides in the United States
each year. Bald eagles are common examples of non-target
organisms that are impacted by pesticide use. Reductions in
bird populations have been found to be associated with
times and areas in which pesticides are used. DDE-induced
egg-shell thinning has especially affected European and
North American bird populations. Some types of fungicides
used in peanut farming are only slightly toxic to birds and
mammals, but may kill earthworms, which can in turn
reduce populations of the birds and mammals that feed on
them. Some pesticides come in granular form A few
granules of a pesticide may be enough to kill a small bird.

o Aquatic Life
Herbicides such as copper sulphate that are applied to
water to kill plants are toxic to fish and other water animals
at concentrations similar to those used to kill the plants.
Application of herbicides to bodies of water can kill plants
on which fish depend for their habitat. Pesticides can
accumulate in bodies of water to levels that kill off
zooplankton, the main source of food for young fish. The
faster a given pesticide breaks down in the environment, the
less threat it poses to aquatic life. Insecticides are typically
more toxic to aquatic life than herbicides and fungicides.

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o HUMAN
Pesticides secrete into soils and groundwater which can end
up in drinking water, and pesticide spray can drift and
pollute the air. The effects of pesticides on human health
depend on the toxicity of the chemical and the length and
magnitude of exposure. Farm workers and their families
experience the greatest exposure to agricultural pesticides
through direct contact. Every human contains pesticides in
their fat cells. Exposure effects can range from mild skin
irritation to birth defects, tumours, genetic changes, blood
and nerve disorders, endocrine disruption, coma or death.
Developmental effects have been associated with
pesticides. Recent increases in childhood cancers in
throughout North America, such as leukaemia, may be a
result of somatic cell mutations. Insecticides targeted to
disrupt insects can have harmful effects on mammalian
nervous systems. Both chronic and acute alterations have
been observed in exposes. DDT and its breakdown product
DDE disturb estrogenic activity and possibly lead to breast
cancer.

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 TYPES OF PESTICIDES
o Insecticides – insects.
o Herbicides – plants.
o Rodenticides – rodents (rats & mice)
o Bactericides – bacteria.
o Fungicides – fungi.
o Larvicides – larvae.
o Avicides –Birds
o Acaricides–Spiders
o Nematicides–Nematodes

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THEORY
In the past decade, there has been tremendous increase in the
yields of various crops to meet the demand of overgrowing world
population. This feat has been achieved by adopting new
methods of farming and by extensive use of fertilizers and
insecticides. Insecticides and pesticides are chemicals which
when sprayed over the crop protect it from pests. For example,
DDT, BHC, zinc phosphide, mercuric chloride, dinitrophenol, etc.
they either kill the insects or prevent their growth. All pesticides
are poisonous chemical s and must be used in small quantities
and with great care. Pesticides have proved to be effective
against variety of insects, weeds and fungi and 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 into
animals, birds and human beings who eat these polluted fruits
and vegetables. Inside the body they remain accumulated and
cause serious health problems. These days preference is given to
the use of biodegradable insecticides like vapum, malthalion. But
even these are also not harm-free. Samples of raw fruits and
vegetables show a good amount of insecticide residues. Such
findings have aroused the concern of scientists, agricultural
administrators and health officials all over the world to put a
check over the use of insecticides and to search for non –
insecticidal means of pest control.

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REQUIRMENTS
o Mortar and pestle

o Beakers

o Funnel

o Glass rod

o China-dish

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o Tripod stand

o Fusion tubes

o Test tubes

o Knife

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o Filter paper

o Water bath

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

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OBSERVATIONS
Test for presence Presence of
Name of
Sl. No of nitrogen insecticide/pesticide
fruit/vegetable
(positive/negative) residue
1 Tomato Negative No
2 Potato Positive Yes
3 Carrot Negative No
4 Beetroot Positive Yes
5 Grapes Positive Yes

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CONCLUSION
Thus, from the above experiment, we can conclude that the fruits
and vegetables that we consume on a day-to-day basis,
especially tomatoes and potatoes, can have nitrogen-containing
insecticides or pesticides

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Comprehensive Practical Chemistry, Class 12
www.niehs.nih.gov
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
www.wikipedia.com
www.byjus.com
www.cropchemicals.co.in

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