Determination of Pre-Harvest Interval, Pesticide Contamination and Consumer Awareness to Reduce Pesticide Residues in Vegetables: A Case Study in Local Market of Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

Pesticides are designed to kill the pest, and also it’s harmful to human. Pesticide contamination identified by various methods and the residual effect of pesticides are minimized by consumer awareness. The objective of this study was to identify the pesticide residues by smell and appearance in different vegetables. Especially in leafy vegetables, smell and chop and smelling method were used and measured the efficiency of water soaking method to minimize the pesticide residues in Vavuniya local market. A total of 160 samples were randomly taken from the local market and pesticide residue was analyzed by smell and their appearance. For the chop and smelling method, different kinds of leafy vegetables were collected from organic farming fields and pesticides used farming fields. The collected leafy vegetable samples were chopped and kept in closed containers for 15 minutes. The contaminations were identified by smell using selected consumers in that area. Selected samples were soaked into water for 1 – 3 hours and contamination of pesticide was measured by consumers on an hourly basis by smell after thoroughly wash. The collected data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics in SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). All farmers are depended on pesticides to control the pest. Eighty-five percentage of the sample vegetables contain a high amount of pesticide residue which was identified by smell and appearance. Around 60% of the farmers harvested the products within one week from the pesticide application After purchasing leafy vegetables, consumers identified the pesticide contamination by chop and smelling method before cooking. Pesticide residue was minimized by soaking vegetables in water for 1-2 hours and thoroughly wash before preparation of foods and also avoid to purchase pesticide-contaminated vegetables and fruits by observing the appearance and smell of fruits and vegetables. Around 74% of consumers said that there was no pesticide smell in vegetables which were soaked in water for three hours. This survey is recommended to carry out awareness programs about the indiscriminate use of pesticides and residual effects to farmers and consumers to identify pesticide-free vegetables in the market and reduce pesticide residue before cooking to prevent health hazards.