Storage stability of three organophosphorus pesticides on cucumber samples for analysis

The residue sample storage stability of three organophosphorus pesticides, dichlorvos, diazinon, and malathion, under different conditions was investigated. The storage conditions studied included storage time, temperature, and sample form. The addition of extra enzyme to the samples was also studied to investigate its effect on stability. It was found that malathion was more unstable than dichlorvos and diazinon, there was an over 70% loss in 90 days even at −20 °C in coarsely chopped form. The pesticide residues were more stable when the cucumber was in homogenate form than coarsely chopped. Furthermore, the addition of catalase increased the degradation of malathion, where there was more decomposition with increasing levels of catalase. However, there was no obvious relationship between degradation of dichlorvos and diazinon and catalase concentration. Overall, this study revealed factors that can be optimized to increase the storage stability of organophosphorus pesticides, where enzyme was one of the main influencing factors.