Document Type : Research Paper

Abstract

Degradation of pesticides after production and before usage can reduce efficiency and therefore make them unusable. Stockpile of these pesticides in the world is an environmental and health threat. Therefore the management of obsolete pesticides is essential around the world. This study investigated the possibility of recycling the expired pesticide stockpiles of agricultural supportive services company. Quality control tests were performed according to the FAO, CIPAC and pesticide manufacturers' guidelines. The results were classified based on the different groups of pesticides, physical state of pesticides formulation, producing companies, date of production and location of warehouses. Data were analyzed by Chi-Square test, in case of significance; the risk test was performed to determine the relative risk for the variables using SPSS-18 software. Result showed a no-significant correlation between the time lagged after production of pesticides and percentage degradation of pesticides (r=0.427, n=10, P>0.01). The percent degradation of expired insecticides was highest and then the herbicides and finally the fungicides. The percent degradation of expired pesticides formulated in the country was 45% and those formulated in India/China were 58%. The results show that 55% of pesticides with liquid formulation and 29% with solid formulation were degraded. Considering the degradation rate of pesticides, there is no statistically significant differences betweenthe warehouses at four climatic regions (P>0.01).

Keywords

• obsolete pesticides
• quality control
• pesticides groups
• climate zones