Pesticides use and their residues in soil, grains and water of paddy ecosystem – A review

Rice is one of the major staple food crops in India and grown in different agro-climatic zones, occupying an area of 14.5 lakh ha. The term ‘rice is life’ is most appropriate for India as this crop plays a vital role in country's food security and provides livelihood for millions of rural households. Rice is always infected by the various pests during cultivation. Thus farmers growing rice use pesticides to protect their crop, some of which are persistent and contaminate the soil. From the large field study, it was observed that pesticides were used in bulk amount. Pesticides are frequently applied to crop fields to combat insect pests for better rice production. The presence of excessive residues above the tolerance level poses health hazard to the consumers. In the present review the use of pesticides, residues in soil, plant and water of paddy ecosystem is discussed