Pesticide in vegetables? Home remedies to help

Pesticide in vegetables? Home remedies to help

Viju B TNN

Thiruvananthapuram:
Agroscientists working on reducing pesticide residue in vegetables and fruits have come up with simple home remedies for the same.
    A study on the impact of pesticide residue on farmproduce – conducted by the pesticide research and analytical laboratory of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) – found that a crosssection of leafy vegetables and curry leaves had pesticides beyond permissible limits with the university’s agro scientists trying out various organic methods to remove them.
    “In our study, we found that tamarind water and vinegar were best suited to remove pesticides from vegetables,” says Dr Thomas Biju Mathew, department of entomology, who conducted the tests along with a team of scientists. He said they used a majority of pesticides available in the market – rated red (extreme), yellow (high) and blue (moderate) according to toxicity levels, for the tests.
    “Tamarind water and vinegar were effective in removing the pesticide residue (up to 95%), especially in spinach, curry leaves, chillies, lady’s finger, snake gourds and brinjals that were contaminated with heavy doses of pesticides.”
    The vegetables need to be dipped in tamarind water (prepared using at least 20 mg of tamarind) for 15 minutes. The curry leaves and chillies should be washed thoroughly before cooking. “Curry leaves and chilles can be dried, kept back in the fridge and used when needed. Bitter guords and beans need to be brushed with a soft bristle brush after dipping in tamarind water and washed once more,’’ he says.
    The tests also revealed that basmati rice had higher traces of pesticide when compared to brown rice available in the state. “The pesticide level in samples of rice decreased by 85% once they were washed and cooked.” The Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee had, in August, approved 240 pesticides for use in the country while banning 70. An earlier study by KAU had found that many vegetable samples – mainly chilly (18 of 48 samples) and curry leaves (47 of 79 samples) – had traces of pesticides that should not have been used on them. PESTICIDE RISK
According to a study by the Kerala agricultural university, out of the 1,300 vegetables samples tested, only 13% of the samples showed pesticide residues
But many leafy vegetables, curry leaves and green chillies were found to have traces of pesticides, which were not meant to be used on them at all
Out the 48 samples of chilly, 18 of had pesticides which were not prescribed for chilly; and in curry leaves, out of the 79 samples, 47 samples had traces of pesticides that should not have been administered on them