Optical Technologies for Determination of Pesticide Residue

Pesticides are essential for agricultural and horticultural crops production. Pesticides are commonly classified as insecticide, fungicide, herbicide, rodenticide, etc. These pesticides act against insects, rodents, weeds which are harmful in agricultural or horticultural planting. Normally, farmers use the pesticides following the instruction written in the package. In most cases, the pesticides are mixed with water and sprayed over the plants. Basically, after spraying fruits or vegetables with pesticide, a period of 10 to 14 days is required to allow the chemical to degrade. However, the full degradation of pesticide is not always achieved. In recent years, some farmers ignored to use the pesticide correctly and rationally. In order to chase a better insecticidal effect and the economic interests, the phenomenon of using pesticide excessively, or selling the fruits or vegetables just after spraying the pesticide in few days are not difficult to see. Moreover, the pesticides overdosing also have the potential to contaminate the soil, air, and river.