Use and Handling Practice of Pesticides in Vegetables: A Case Study on Some Selected Districts of Nepal

A study was carried out to explore the present status of pesticides use and its handling practices on commercially grown vegetable pockets area of five districts namely; Tanahu, Chitwan, Kavre, Dhading and Bhaktapur of Nepal. Farmers were found to be using 24 types of pesticides in vegetables. The majority of used pesticides were moderately hazardous group of WHO classification. The analyses results revealed that the pesticides residues in vegetables were not detected below the level of 0.007 mg/kg by GLC and below the level of 0.05mg/kg by Test-kit method. However, the handling practice of pesticides among farmers was not found as per the recommended procedure. Additionally, farmers were not aware of using personal protective equipments as well as taking adequate precautions during mixing, spraying and disposal of empty containers. Thus, awareness training to farmers on the use and handling of pesticides was assessed for pest management. J. Food Sci. Technol. Nepal, Vol. 6 (105-109), 2010 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jfstn.v6i0.8270