Residue Dissipation Patterns of Indoxacarb and Pymetrozine in Broccoli under Greenhouse Conditions

BACKGROUND: This study was carried out to establish pre-harvest residue limits (PHRLs) of indoxacarb and pymetrozine in broccoli under greenhouse conditions, based on dissipation patterns and biological half-lives of pesticides during 10 days after application. METHODS AND RESULTS: The field studies were conducted in two different greenhouse, located in Chungju-si (Field 1) and Gunsan-si (Field 2). Samples were collected at 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 days after spraying pesticide suspension. The analytical methods for indoxacarb and pymetrozine using HPLC-DAD were validated by recoveries ranging of 94.3-105.4% and 81.8-96.0%, respectively, and MLOQ (Method Limit of Quantification) of 0.05 mg/kg. Biological half-lives of indoxacarb and pymetrozine were 2.9 and 3.2-3.8 days in broccoli, respectively. The lower 95% confidence intervals of dissipation rate constant of indoxacarb were determined as 0.1508 (Field 1) and 0.2017 (Field 2), whereas those of pymetrozine were calculated as 0.1489 (Field 1) and 0.1577 (Field 2). CONCLUSION: The significant differences were not observed between the dissipation rates of indoxacarb and pymetrozine in broccoli. The major factor affecting residue dissipation was the dilution effect by fast growth. The PHRLs for 10 days prior to harvest were recommended as 30.06 (Field 1) and 18.07 (Field 2) mg/kg for indoxacarb, and 4.84 (Field 1) and 4.43 (Field 2) mg/kg for pymetrozine, respectively.