I am a bit confused with pesticide half life. As far as I know, it is used for environmental purposes.however, if a pesticide is systematic then the biological process would deal with it during the waiting period but if a pesticide is by conract, dose it have the same waiting period or do we relay on the washing step to remove the residues fron the surface of fruits and vegetables.
If we relay on the weather conditions to degrade pesticides from the surface, do they have then similar time as Half-Life.
Do low, moderate and high half-lives presist in the environment somehow related to the safety of plants in fields, produced for humman consumption or as animal feeds.
Best regards
It is more to do with persistence of pesticides residues in soil or related environment where they are intended to be used...
Thank you Anoop,
Do you think the persistence of pesticides in soils can contaminate plants as well as the environment?
Yes, no doubt. For example, you will almost never find glyphosate in soils or waters after 3-5 days, but it is relatively stable in food samples (corn, for example). Most of the pesticides that we detect in food are in the bulk food matrix and not just surficial. This indicates that there is biological uptake of the pesticide/herbicide during the growing phase, which of course comes back around to the persistence in soil.
I do not doubt it, too. You will find glyphosate in honey. Sometimes in an amount that the beekeeper is prohibited to sold the honey... (https://www.ecowatch.com/glyphosate-honey-2076074219.html)
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