Dissipation kinetics of beta-cyfluthrin and imidacloprid in tea and their transfer from processed tea to infusion

•Dissipation of beta-cyfluthrin and imidacloprid residues in tea matrices were studied.•Recoveries were within 88-103% with RSD of 0.31-5.27%.•The t1/2 of beta-cyfluthrin and imidacloprid was between 2.89-3.15 and 1.20-1.39 d.•Beta-cyfluthrin residues not transferred into the tea infusion.

Dissipation kinetics of mixed formulation consisting beta-cyfluthrin and imidacloprid in tea crop under an open field ecosystem was investigated. The mixed formulation was applied on tea plant at recommended (27 + 63) and double the recommended (54 + 126 g a.i./ha) dose and residues were determined using gas chromatography-electron capture detector and high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector for beta-cyfluthrin and imidacloprid, respectively. The limit of quantification of analytical method was 0.05 µg/g and the average recoveries were ranged from 88.36% to 103.49% with relative standard deviations of less than 6% at three spiked levels. The experimental results showed that in the green tea leaves imidacloprid dissipated faster than beta-cyfluthrin with the half-life ranging between 1.20-1.39 and 2.89-3.15days, respectively. The beta-cyfluthrin residues present in the processed tea not transferred into the tea infusion during the infusion process and imidacloprid transferred in the range 43.12-49.7%. On the basis of the transfer of residues from processed tea to infusion, a waiting period of 17 days for tea plucking after pesticide application at recommended dose may be suggested.