Journal of Crop Production and Processing

In this research, the presence of metalaxyl residues was studied in field-grown cucumber. Two different formulations of metalaxyl were used in the experiments. In the first experiment, cucumber plants were sprayed once and repeatedly by Ridomil-MZ 72 WP at 2.5 g/litre. In the second experiment, single and double applications of metalaxyl granule 5G were carried out at 5 g/m². Leaves and fruits were sampled at different times after each treatment and analyzed for metalaxyl residues by HPLC.

In leaf samples from single sprayed plots, metalaxyl residues declined rapidly following the treatment and more than 50% of the residues disappeared in the first two days, whereas in the leaf from single granule-applied plants, the residues increased during the first three weeks and then declined. Metalaxyl residues in cucumber sampled from single sprayed-plots were at a high level during the first three days after the spray and declined below the MRL (0.5 mg/kg) on the 7th day. In granule-applied plots, the residues increased during the first 7 days and the level below the limit was recorded 20 days after application. Residual values for plants sprayed with suspension showed a faster dissipation rate than granulated treatment. Metalaxyl recovered after three times of spraying and two times of granular application did not show any toxic accumulation of residues in fruit.