Ultimate Fate and Determination of Pyriproxyfen and Fenpropathrin in the Environment: A Critical Review

Since the 1990s, the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen and pyrethroids such as fenpropathrin have been widely used to reduce pest populations in agriculture. The widespread use of these insecticides makes it essential for researchers to understand how they behave in terrestrial ecosystems and how they can be detected. This work reviewed the most effective analytical techniques used to detect pyriproxyfen and fenpropathrin in various samples. The degradation of pyriproxyfen and fenpropathrin in soil takes time, but in aerobic environments, pyriproxyfen and fenpropathrin are degraded rapidly following first-order kinetics or pseudo-first-order kinetics. Both insecticides tend to adsorb on soils and are not susceptible to leaching into groundwater. Based on greenhouse or field conditions, both insecticides degrade differently by following first-order kinetics, and their half-lives in plants range from one to three weeks. Since both insecticide residues are soluble in acetone, hexane, ethyl acetate, and acetonitrile, they can be extracted in those solvents. They can also be processed in a variety of ways discussed in this paper. Ultimately, the review explains how fate profiles of pyriproxyfen and fenpropathrin in soil and plants affect these molecules' adverse effects on non-target organisms.