Residues of aldicarb and its main metabolites in the leaves of sugar beet plants

The residues of aldicarb and of its main metabolites (aldoxycarb, 2-mesyl-2-methylpropionitrile, and 2-mesyl-2-methylpropan-1-ol) were measured, by a gas-liquid chromatographic procedure, in the leaves of ripe sugar beet plants from cultures made by several farmers. The sugar beet plants had been grown in normal fields and treated at sowing with aldicarb at the usual rate of 1 kg ha^?1 in the form of ‘Temik’, the commercial formulation of aldicarb which contains 10% by weight of aldicarb. The samples of sugar beet plants were taken from three fields of different soil types. The residue concentrations, ranged in order of soil type, were: sandy loam > silt loam > clay.     

Foliar residues and toxicity to Aphis citricola of three systemic insecticides applied to the soil in a citrus grove

A study was made of the accumulation of aldicarb, ethiofencarb and dimethoate in citrus leaves and fruit; the toxicity of these insecticides to the spirea aphid (Aphis citricola Van der Goot) was also studied. The effectiveness of the treatments was affected mainly by the rate of accumulation of the toxicant in the leaves. At 18 g a.i. per tree, the greatest residues found in the leaves were 106, 12.2 and 1.3 μg 8^?1 fresh weight for aldicarb, ethiofencarb and dimethoate, respectively. The concentration in mature leaves was very similar to that in young leaves. The residue levels in the mature fruits were much lower than in the leaves. The main components of the residues in the leaves were aldicarb sulphoxide [2-methyl-2-(methylsulphinyl)- propionaldehyde O-methylcarbamoyloxime], dimethoate, omethoate and ethiofencarb sulphoxide [2-(ethylsulphinylmethyl)phenyl methylcarbamate]. A laboratory study with synthetic diets showed similar toxicity for all three insecticides, whereas in detached leaves, or when taken up by citrus trees, ethiofencarb was the least toxic to the aphids.     

Distribution of the radioactivity in sugar beet plants treated with [14C]aldicarb

Sugar beet plants were grown in the field, after in-furrow application of [¹⁴C]aldicarb (3 kg of aldicarb ha^?1) at planting. Some plants (the growing plants) were harvested 99 days after sowing and the rest (the ripe plants) 196 days after sowing. The percentages of the weights of [¹⁴C]aldicarb equivalents (the total aldicarb plus aldicarb sulphoxide and sulphone, plus all the other metabolites of [¹⁴C]aldicarb which contain ¹⁴C, expressed as aldicarb equivalents) incorporated into the beet plants, relative to the weight applied to the soil, were 2.8 and 1.8, respectively for the growing and ripe plants. The concentrations of [¹⁴C]aldicarb equivalents (mg kg^?1 fresh weight) in the growing and ripe plants, respectively were: blades of the external leaves, 3.16 and 0.93; blades of the internal leaves, 0.63 and 0.68; petioles of the external leaves, 0.51 and 0.26; petioles of the internal leaves, 0.15 and 0.05; crowns, 0.14 and 0.15; roots, 0.16 and 0.13. The proportions of the extractable aldicarb plus aldicarb sulphoxide and aldicarb sulphone determined by gas-liquid chromatography (expressed as aldicarb equivalents) relative to [¹⁴C]aldicarb equivalents, in the external and internal leaf blades of the growing beets, were 56 and 60%, respectively; these values declined to 25 and 19%, respectively in the ripe plants. The proportion was 21 % or less in all other parts of the growing and ripe plants.     

固相萃取液相色谱串联质谱法测定生姜中涕灭威及其代谢产物

建立了固相萃取-液相色谱串联质谱法测定生姜基质中涕灭威及其代谢产物涕灭威亚砜、涕灭威砜的分析方法。试样经乙腈提取,氨基SPE小柱净化后,采用多反应监测（MRM）正离子模式检测,外标法定量。实验结果表明：3种目标物在10ng/mL到50ng/mL质量浓度范围内呈现良好的线性,方法的检出限均为2μg/kg,3个加标水平下平均回收率在72～94%之间。该方法准确、灵敏、重现性好,可用于生姜样品中涕灭威及其代谢产物涕灭威亚砜、涕灭威砜的实际检测。     

The Effect on Soil Fertility of Repeated Applications of Pesticides over 20 Years

Concern has been expressed that repeated use of pesticides may be leading to accumulation of residues in soil and to damaging effects on the environment. A long-term experiment, known as the Chemical Reference Plots, was started in 1974 on a silty clay loam soil at Rothamsted in which plots received applications of up to five pesticides (aldicarb, benomyl, chlorfenvinphos, glyphosate and chlorotoluron or triadimefon), each plot receiving the same treatment annually for up to 20 years. Spring barley was grown each year, and its yield was taken as an indicator of soil fertility. The glyphosate and triadimefon were applied to the autumn stubble prior to ploughing from growing seasons 1980 and 1982 respectively, chlorotoluron was sprayed pre-emergence (1974 and 1976 only) and the other compounds were incorporated into the soil in spring immediately before sowing (1974–1993 inclusive). No deleterious effects on crop productivity were observed from these pesticide applications, and no differences could be found in microbial processes in soils sampled in April 1992 save for a small increase in the amount of microbial-biomass carbon in plots receiving aldicarb. No pesticide residues could be detected in soil taken in August 1994, 17 months after the last experimental treatment. In laboratory incubations using these same soil samples, the degradation of aldicarb residues was greatly enhanced in plots that had received aldicarb for 20 years, whereas degradation rates of benomyl, chlorfenvinphos and triadimefon residues were not influenced by the treatment history.     

The metabolism of [14C]aldicarb in the leaves of sugar beet plants

Sugar beet plants were grown in the field, after in-furrow application of [¹⁴C]aldicarb (3 kg of aldicarb ha^?1) at planting. The ripe sugar beet plants were harvested, and the blades and petioles of the leaves were analysed separately. In the whole leaves, 15% of the ¹⁴C (all the percentages of ¹⁴C are relative to the total ¹⁴C incorporated into the whole leaves) was insoluble in ethanol+ water (1+1 by volume), 31% was organo-soluble (and thus unconjugated in the leaves), and 54% was water-soluble (mainly conjugated to plant constituents). The weights and concentrations (as aldicarb equivalents) of various identified metabolites of aldicarb, incorporated into the leaves, were determined; no aldicarb, as such, was detected.     

The metabolism of [14C]aldicarb in the root of sugar beet plants

Sugar beet plants were grown in the field, after in-furrow application of [¹⁴C]- aldicarb (3 kg of aldicarb ha^?1) at planting. The ripe sugar beet plants were harvested, and the roots were analysed. The roots were fractionated according to a procedure similar to the normal beet-sugar manufacturing process. Expressed as a proportion of the total radioactivity incorporated into the root, the pulp contained 29.7%, the lime cake 9.7%, the crystallised sugar 17.7% (which gave, with the radioactivity found in the sugar in the molasses, a total of 20.7% of the radioactivity in the total sugar), and the molasses, 42.9%. A part of the labelled carbon from the radio- active aldicarb and its metabolites had thus been metabolised and incorporated into sugar molecules. Except for the radioactivity in the sugar and in the lime cake from the processing, the proportion of radioactive non-conjugated organosoluble compounds was very low (2.6%), and perhaps partially corresponded to the very low amount of aldoxycarb (aldicarb sulphone) in the root (less than 0.001 mg of [¹⁴C]-aldicarb equivalents kg^?1 fresh weight). Hydrolysis of the molasses yielded free radioactive 2-methyl-2-(methylsulphinyl)propan-1-ol (3.1%), 2-mesyl-2-methyl-propan-I-ol (8.9%) and 2-mesyl-2-methylpropionic acid (12.0%) which had been conjugated to plant constituents in the root. The corresponding concentrations (expressed as mg of [¹⁴C]aldicarb equivalents kg^?1 fresh weight of root) were 0.004, 0.011, and 0.016, respectively. No aldicarb, aldicarb sulphoxide or aldoxycarb (nor the corresponding nitrile, generated from aldicarb during the fractionation procedure) was liberated by the hydrolysis, indicating the absence of conjugates of these compounds in the root.     

The effect of different dosages of aldicarb on the multiplication at small population densities of Globodera rostochiensis on potato in rotavated and non-rotavated plots

The effect of 0.35, 0.5, 0.7, 1, 1.4 and 2 g aldicarb/m², applied at planting time, on the multiplication of small densities ofGlobodera rostochiensis on potato was investigated in an experiment on sandy loam. The chemical was applied broadcast to the soil and rotavated into the top 15 cm on half the plots of each treatment. The plots were ridged three times, the first time immediately after the planting of the potatoes. Nematodes multiplied at the same rate in the top 20 cm of the soil on rotavated and non-rotavated plots treated with the same dosage of the chemical. The relation between log dosage and probit reduction of the multiplication rate in the top 20 cm after the plots had been levelled was linear between 0.35 g and 1.4 g aldicarb/m². The dosage-increase efficiency was 0.3 probit units per doubling of the dosage and the reduction of the multiplication rate at 0.5 g aldicarb/m² 76%, whereas 2 g aldicarb/m² was not more effective than 1.4 g. However, multiplication rates in the centre of the ridges of rotavated plots were reduced by 96.5% at 1 to 2 g aldicarb/m² but only by about 60% below the furrows and by 60% to 80% below the ridges. The latter reduction was the greater the larger the dosage of the chemical.The observations were in accordance with the supposition that multiplication of nematodes was totally inhibited in the top 20 cm of plots treated with 1.4 g and 2 g aldicarb/m² and that postharvest populations there consisted entirely of non-hatched eggs of the pre-plant population. The poor performance of the chemical in the deeper layers of the soil makes application less effective in reducing population build-up than in preventing yield losses.Samenvatting Het effect van 0,35, 0,5, 0,7, 1, 1,4 en 2 g aldicarb/m², toegediend vlak voor het poten, op de vermenigvuldiging vanGlobodera rostochiensis op aardappel werd onderzocht in een veldproef op zavel. Het middel werd breedwerpig over de oppervlakte van de grond verdeeld. Daarna werd de helft van de met elke dosis behandelde en van de onbehandelde veldjes gefreesd tot 15 cm diepte. Er werd drie maal aangeaard. Er was geen verschil in de vermenigvuldiging van de aaltjes in de bovenste 20 cm van de grond tussen wel en van het middel van probit vermindering van het vermenigvuldigingsgetal van het aaltje ten opzichte van onbehandeld in de bovenste 20 cm van de grond was rechtlijnig tussen 0,35 g en 1,4 g aldicarb/m². Het effect van dosisvergroting was 0,3 probit eenheid per verdubbeling van de dosis en de vermindering van het vermenigvuldigingsgetal bij 0,5 g aldicarb/m² 77%. Het effect van 1,4 g en 2 g aldicarb/m² was gelijk. De resultaten zijn in overeenstemming met de veronderstelling, dat in de met 1,4 en 2 g aldicarb/m² behandelde veldjes de vermenigvuldiging van de aaltjes in de bovenste 20 cm van de grond geheel was verhinderd. Met een voor praktische toepassing aanvaardbare dosis aldicarb kon een sterke vermeerdering van aardappelcystenaaltijes beneden 20 cm onder de oppervlakte van de grond niet worden voorkómen. Daardoor is de bruikbaarheid van dit systemische nematicide (en van overeenkomstige middelen) in een bestrijdingssysteem, dat streeft naar het (zeer) laag houden van dichtheden van aardappelcystenaaltjes, problematisch.     

The role of ferrous ions in the rapid degradation of oxamyl,methomyl and aldicarb in anaerobic soils

The carbamoyloxime pesticides methomyl, oxamyl and aldicarb, together with the oxidation products of aldicarb, are known to break down much more rapidly in certain anaerobic subsoils than in the aerobic topsoils from the same site. Ferrous ions have now been shown to be involved in this reaction. Oxamyl was degraded in aqueous solutions at 30°C containing 250 μg ml^?1 Fe²⁺ with a half-life of about 10 h, independent of pH in the range of 5.65–7.66; the observed products of this reaction were N,N-dimethyl-l-cyanoformamide and methanethiol. These same products, rather than the oximino hydrolysis product observed from degradation in aerobic soils, were rapidly and quantitatively formed from oxamyl in suspensions of anaerobic reduced subsoils (Fe²⁺ concentration 27–41 μg ml^?1 soil water), but oxamyl was rather stable in water-saturated Vredepeel subsoil (Fe²⁺ concentration 0.65 μg ml^?1) in which the redox potential was much higher. Methomyl behaved similarly. The rates of reaction in the suspensions of anaerobic subsoils were greater than expected from the concentrations of Fe²⁺ in the soil water, but most of the Fe²⁺ present in soil was bound to the soil particles by cation exchange and this bound Fe²⁺ may have participated. Breakdown of aldicarb was accelerated both in solutions of Fe²⁺ and in the suspensions of anaerobic reduced subsoils, though the rate enhancement was less than observed with methomyl and oxamyl; 2-methyl-2-methylthiopropionitrile and 2-methyl-2-methylthiopropionaldehyde were the observed products from aldicarb in anaerobic soil but only the former was produced in Fe²⁺ solutions; the corresponding nitriles and aldehydes were also yielded by aldicarb sulphoxide and aldicarb sulphone in the anaerobic, reduced subsoils.     

Residues of zeta‐cypermethrin in bovine tissues and milk following pour‐on and spray application

The depletion of zeta‐cypermethrin residues in bovine tissues and milk was studied. Beef cattle were treated three times at 3‐week intervals with 1 ml 10 kg^?1 body weight of a 25 g litre^?1 or 50 g litre^?1 pour‐on formulation (2.5 and 5.0 mg zeta‐cypermethrin kg^?1 body weight) or 100 mg kg^?1 spray to simulate a likely worst‐case treatment regime. Friesian and Jersey dairy cows were treated once with 2.5 mg zeta‐cypermethrin kg^?1 in a pour‐on formulation. Muscle, liver and kidney residue concentrations were generally less than the limit of detection (LOD = 0.01 mg kg^?1). Residues in renal‐fat and back‐fat samples from animals treated with 2.5 mg kg^?1 all exceeded the limit of quantitation (LOQ = 0.05 mg kg^?1), peaking at 10 days after treatment. Only two of five kidney fat samples were above the LOQ after 34 days, but none of the back‐fat samples exceeded the LOQ at 28 days after treatment. Following spray treatments, fat residues were detectable in some animals but were below the LOQ at all sampling intervals. Zeta‐cypermethrin was quantifiable (LOQ = 0.01 mg kg^?1) in only one whole‐milk sample from the Friesian cows (0.015 mg kg^?1, 2 days after treatment). In whole milk from Jersey cows, the mean concentration of zeta‐cypermethrin peaked 1 day after treatment, at 0.015 mg kg^?1, and the highest individual sample concentration was 0.025 mg kg^?1 at 3 days after treatment. Residues in milk were not quantifiable beginning 4 days after treatment. The mean concentrations of zeta‐cypermethrin in milk fat from Friesian and Jersey cows peaked two days after treatment at 0.197 mg kg^?1 and 0.377 mg kg^?1, respectively, and the highest individual sample concentrations were 2 days after treatment at 0.47 mg kg^?1 and 0.98 mg kg^?1, respectively. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

高效液相色谱柱后衍生化法检测蔬菜中涕灭威和克百威残留的方法研究

建立了蔬菜中涕灭威和克百威残留的分析方法。样品以乙腈提取,以氨基固相萃取柱净化,甲醇∶二氯甲烷=1∶99（V/V）洗脱,以高效液相色谱柱后衍生系统,荧光检测器检测。在最佳分离条件下,涕灭威和克百威在浓度0.01～1.0mg/L范围内线性关系良好;方法检出限涕灭威为1.4μg/kg,克百威为1.7μg/kg。蔬菜样品中3个添加水平的平均回收率为涕灭威70.6%～82.0%,RSD为5.1%～12.2%;克百威88.0%～98.0%,RSD为1.3%～14.0%。该方法灵敏,准确,适用于蔬菜中涕灭威和克百威的残留检测。     

The efficacy of seed treatment with aldicarb to establish conditioned aversion in birds to sprouting sugar beets

The cotyledons and stems of sugar beet sprouts from seeds each treated with 8 mg Temik granules containing 0.8 mg aldicarb, were noxious to adult Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix) and to 3-week-old chickens of domestic fowl. Mortality rate, intensity of poisoning situation, and the time interval between feeding and appearance of poisoning signs, corresponded with the number of sprouts fed. The taste of aldicarb residues in the sprouts was discriminable by the birds as well.     

丁虫腈在玉米和土壤中的残留及消解动态

建立了丁虫腈在土壤、玉米植株及玉米籽粒中残留的气相色谱分析方法。玉米植株和籽粒样品用乙腈提取,经Oasis HLB固相萃取柱净化;土壤样品用丙酮提取,经液-液萃取净化,气相色谱-电子捕获检测器(GC-ECD)检测,外标法定量。结果表明:在0.01、0.05和0.5 mg/kg 3个添加水平下,丁虫腈的回收率为80%~86%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为5.1%~8.0%;其在土壤、玉米植株及籽粒中的定量限(LOQ)均为0.01 mg/kg。采用所建立的方法对丁虫腈在玉米和土壤中的残留及消解动态进行研究的结果表明:丁虫腈在土壤和玉米植株中的半衰期分别为6.77和2.44 d。采用5%的丁虫腈乳油按推荐高剂量(有效成分)37.5 g/hm2及其1.5倍该剂量(56.25 g/hm2)于玉米苗后茎叶初期施药1次,在玉米乳熟期和成熟期时,玉米籽粒中丁虫腈的最终残留量均低于定量限;玉米收获时(距施药90 d),籽粒中丁虫腈的残留量均低于参考的MRL值(0.02 mg/kg,氟虫腈在谷物中的最大残留限量)。     

Conversion rates of aldicarb and its oxidation products in soils. III. Aldicarb

Aldicarb was incubated in seven soils at 15°C and its loss was well described by first-order kinetics. Rate constants varied between 0.078 day^?1 in a peaty sand to 0.35 day^?1 in a clay loam. The concentration-time relationships for aldicarb, its sulphoxide and its sulphone were approximated by a computation model which was used to analyse the importance of the various consecutive and simultaneous reactions. It was computed that 91 to 100% of the aldicarb would be oxidised to its sulphoxide.     

Organochlorine insecticide residues in bovine milk and manufactured milk products in Illinois, 1971-76.

Monitoring activities were initiated in 1971 to survey the occurence and levels of organochlorine insecticide residues in bovine milk and manufactured milk products in Illinois. Dieldrin residues were the most prevalent, and were found in 96 percent of the samples. Dieldrin also accounted for the highest average residue concentration (0.09 ppm). Only 0.3% of the samples contained illegal insecticide residues. Levels of DDT and lindane were generally declining, but those for dieldrin and heptachlor epoxide tended to remain constant.     

Evaluation of oil formulations of deltamethrin for use on cotton targets for tsetse fly control

A range of formulations of deltamethrin were prepared, some containing an ultraviolet (UV) absorber compound or a combination of the UV absorber and an oil, and applied to blue cotton tsetse fly target samples which were then exposed to the effect of simulated sunlight and water in the laboratory. The residue of insecticide remaining on the targets and the activity of the latter against tsetse flies was determined. Formulations containing the UV absorber and coconut oil or silicone oil remained the most effective against tsetse flies. A coconut oil formulation of the insecticide was selected for field evaluation in comparison with a commercial deltamethrin formulation, Glossinex 200′ S.C., which contains 10% UV absorber. Target samples treated with these formulations were exposed to natural tsetse fly habitat in Ghana for a period of five months and evaluated for deltamethrin residues and activity against four species of tsetse fly. After five months, 4–13 times more deltamethrin remained on the targets treated with the coconut oil formulation than on those treated with ‘Glossinex’, and consequently the former were more active against tsetse flies than the latter. Target samples sequentially dipped in the coconut oil formulation resulted in uniform insecticide concentration on the targets, whereas those dipped in ‘Glossinex’ contained gradually decreasing deltamethrin concentrations.     

Accumulation pattern and insecticidal effect of aldicarb in cotton following soil treatment for the control of the tobacco whitefly (Bemisia tabaci)

The accumulation pattern of the pesticide aldicarb [2-methyl-2-(methylthio) propionaldehyde O-(methylcarbamoyl)-oxime] and of its sulfoxide and sulfone metabolites was studied in field-grown cotton, following soil treatments at various intervals from planting. Control of the tobacco whitefly(Bemisia tabaci) was determined and correlated with the concentration of aldicarb and of its metabolites in cotton leaves. The main constituent found in the leaves was aldicarb sulfoxide, which reached its maximum concentration there at about 22 days post-treatment. Late application of the insecticide (mid-July) resulted in higher concentrations toward the end of the growing season and so gave improved control of the pest. Results are presented for residues in young and mature leaves and in the seeds.     

Potential enhancement of degradation of the nematicides aldicarb,oxamyl and fosthiazate in UK agricultural soils through repeated applications

BACKGROUND: The potential for enhanced degradation of the carbamoyloxime nematicides aldicarb and oxamyl and the organophosphate fosthiazate was investigated in 35 UK agricultural soils. Under laboratory conditions, soil samples received three successive applications of nematicide at 25 day intervals. RESULTS: The second and third applications of aldicarb were degraded at a faster rate than the first application in six of the 15 aldicarb‐treated soils, and a further three soils demonstrated rapid degradation of all three applications. High organic matter content and low pH had an inhibitory effect on the rate of aldicarb degradation. Rapid degradation was observed in nine out of the ten soils treated with oxamyl. In contrast, none of the fosthiazate‐treated soils demonstrated enhanced degradation. CONCLUSION: The potential for enhanced degradation of aldicarb and oxamyl was demonstrated in nine out of 15 and nine out of ten soils respectively that had previously been treated with these active substances. Degradation of fosthiazate occurred at a much slower rate, with no evidence of enhanced degradation. Fosthiazate may provide a useful alternative in cases where the efficacy of aldicarb and oxamyl has been reduced as a result of enhanced degradation. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Control of Aphis fabae on broad beans (Vicia faba) by the systemic action of gamma-bhc,thionazin and aldicarb

The in-row application of aldicarb granules at 2 lb active ingredient (a.i.)/acre (2·24 kg/ha) at sowing gave complete control of Aphis fabae Scop. on broad beans (Vicia faba L. cv. Seville) up to 7 days before harvest and resulted in a three-fold increase in yield compared with a similar thionazin treatment. Bean plants grown from seeds which were soaked in a gamma-BHC solution at 20 ppm for 24 h prior to planting were protected from this aphid for most of the growing season almost as effectively as with the thionazin treatment. A thin-layer chromatography method was developed for the determination in plants and soil of aldicarb and its two major toxic metabolites, the sulphoxide and sulphone. Gas-liquid chromatography was used to monitor the declining levels of gamma-BHC and thionazin, and simultaneous bioassays were made with Aphis fabae on excised leaf discs from the crop. Analysis of the bean seeds and pods at harvest 90 days after sowing indicated no detectable gamma-BHC, less than 0·01 ppm of thionazin and approximately 0·09 ppm total residue of aldicarb sulphone and sulphoxide. Approximately 22% and 13% of the applied aldicarb, in the form of sulphone and sulphoxide but not the parent compound, remained in the top 6 in (152 mm) of soil at the end of 2 and 4 months respectively. Toxicity studies with Aphis fabae, Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris, and Megoura viciae Buck showed an increasing sensitivity in that order to gamma-BHC at 1 ppm in bean plants. Acute toxicity investigations with feeding Aphis fabae indicated an increasing sensitivity in the order of gamma-BHC < aldicarb sulphone < aldicarb sulphoxide < thionazin < aldicarb. Despite the high acute toxicity of thionazin to Aphis fabae it gave low protection against aphids, possibly owing to its relatively short persistence in both plants and soil when compared with aldicarb.     

Environmental exposure to residues after aerial spraying of endosulfan: residues in cow milk,fish, water,soil and cashew leaf in Kasargode,Kerala, India

A detailed study has been conducted to evaluate the residues of endosulfan and its principal metabolite (alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate) which may have accumulated in environmental samples due to regular aerial spray application of endosulfan on cashew leaf plantation for a period of 20 years. Three months after the last spray of endosulfan 350 g litre-1 EC at 300 ml acre-1 (equivalent to 105 g AI acre-1 = 42.5 g ha-1), a total of 93 samples of cow milk, fish, water, soil and dried cashew leaf were collected from a village in Kasargode District, Kerala, India, where endosulfan contamination was likely to have occurred. All the samples were analyzed for total residues of endosulfan (comprising alpha- and beta-endosulfan), endosulfan sulfate and also the potential hydrolysis product endosulfan diol, using gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The minimum detection limits of total endosulfan was 0.001 microgram g-1. Analysis of soil samples showed the deposition of total endosulfan residues in the range < 0.001-0.010 microgram g-1, and dried leaf samples showed residues of endosulfan in the range < 0.001-3.43 micrograms g-1 dry weight. In cow milk, fish and water, endosulfan residues could not be detected above the minimum detection limit. Endosulfan diol was not observed in any sample. The data obtained was confirmed by GC-MS-EI using selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode.