Residue Studies of Difenoconazole and Thiamethoxam during Cultivation of Sweet Persimmon for Export

BACKGROUND: In order to elucidate residual characteristics of difenoconazole and thiamethoxam by treatment to sweet persimmons for one year and to generate the data for the maximum residue limit (MRL) establishment for those pesticides in or on sweet persimmon. METHODS AND RESULTS: Systemic fungicide difenoconazole WP (10% a.i.) and systemic insecticide thiamethoxam WG (10% a.i.) were sprayed onto 12~25-years-old sweet persimmons according to its preharvest interval (PHI), respectively, and then fresh sweet persimmons were harvested at 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 days after treatment from pesticide-sprayed plots at each 3 sites. The analytical methods were evaluated to limit of quantification, linearity, specificity, reproducibility and recoveries. The crop samples were extracted with acetone and performed dichloromethane partition process. The extracted samples of difenoconazole were analyzed by GC-ECD and the thiamethoxam extracted samples were analyzed by HPLC with good sensitivity and selectivity of the method. The average recoveries of difenoconazole ranged from 87.5 to 99.5% with the percentage of coefficient variation in the range 4.1~7.6% at three different spiking levels(0.02, 0.2 and 2.0 mg/kg). And the average recoveries of thiamethoxam and clothianidin ranged from 88.8 to 98.9% and 83.2 to 96.6% with the percentage of coefficient variation in the range 3.6~5.0% and 3.8~9.4% at three different spiking levels(0.02, 0.2 and 2.0 mg/kg), respectively. The residue amounts ranges of difenoconazole were 0.2~0.56 mg/kg and the residue amount was decreased below the MRL level, 1.0 mg/kg, after 1 day harvest. The residue amounts ranges of thiamethoxam were 0.08~0.28 mg/kg and the residue amount was decreased below the MRL level, 0.5 mg/kg, after 1 day harvest. And the residue amount of clothianidin was below then 0.03 mg/kg for only one test site of 14 and 28 day samples. CONCLUSION: As a result, the residual amounts of difenoconazole and thiamethoxam were not exceeded the MRL of established criteria for sweet persimmon. The biological half-lives of difenoconazole and thiamethoxam were 13.6, 19.4, 16.3 and 10.0, 15.3, 14.0 days at each three test sites, respectively.