Harvest Time Residues of Ethion in Soil and Wheat Crop

Harvest time residues of ethion applied as seed treatment @ 6 ml kg⁻¹ and 12 ml kg⁻¹ seed was investigated in soil, wheat grain and straw under field conditions. Representative samples of soil, wheat grain and straw were drawn at harvest and analysed by GC-NPD system. Residues of ethion were 0.048 and 0.082 μg g⁻¹, 0.257 and 0.472 μg g⁻¹ in soil and straw, respectively. No residue was detected in wheat grain at single dose but the residues at double dose was 0.031 μg g⁻¹, which exceeded the maximum residue limit (MRL) of 0.025 μg g⁻¹. The study indicated that harvest time residues of ethion at double dose were not with in safe limits. Hence, this dose cannot be recommended as seed treatment in wheat.