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CHEMISTRY PROJECT FILE

PROJECT REPORT ON

PRESENCE OF PESTICIDES AND

INSECTICIDES IN VARIOUS FRUITS
AND VEGETABLES

CLASS XII (2022-23)

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of CBSE, Delhi

YUVAN KARTHICK R

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Mrs. K PUSHPALATHA M.Sc., M.Ed.
PGT CHEMISTRY

Mahatma Global Gateway (CBSE),

Gopalakrishnan Guruvasal,
Veerapanchan, Madurai-625 020.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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 At the outset I would like to take the opportunity of expressing my sincere
thanks to the Almighty for keeping me in good health all through this gruelling
project work.

I would like to express my special thanks to my worthy Academic Director

Mrs. P Hamsa Priya, Principal Mrs. Meena Karuppiah and to my teacher guide
Mrs. Pushpalatha who provided motivation and valuable guidance to complete this
project.

I got ample opportunity to do research which enriched my knowledge and

widened my thoughts in this arena. I am indebted to them.

I would also like to thank my parents and friends who always inspired and
helped me to complete this project.

Signature of the student

CERTIFICATE

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This is to certify that YUVAN KARTHICK R of class XII, Mahatma Global
Gateway (CBSE), Madurai, has submitted his project work entitled as
“PRESENCE OF PESTICIDES AND INSECTICIDES IN VARIOUS
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES” in the partial fulfillment of the award of All
India Senior Secondary Certificate of Examinations.

I certify that this project is up to my expectation and as per the guidelines

issued by CBSE.

Signature of the Principal Signature of the Teacher in charge

(Mrs.Meena Karuppaiah) (Mrs.Pushpalatha)

Submitted for the viva-voce examination held on____________, at

Mahatma Global Gateway (CBSE), Madurai.

Signature of the Examiner

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YUVAN KARTHICK R
XII – B,
Mahatma Global Gateway (CBSE),
Gopalakrishnan Guruvasal,
Veerapanchan,
Madurai – 625020.

DECLARATION

I, hereby declare that the project work entitled “PESTICIDES AND

INSECTICIDES IN VARIOUS FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.” submitted by me
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of All India Senior
Secondary Certificate of Examinations is a record of main project work done by
me in Mahatma Global Gateway (CBSE), Gopalakrishnan Guruvasal,
Veerapanchan, Madurai. It is an original work and it has not been copied from any
other resources.

Place: Madurai
Date:

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO DESCRIPTION PAGE NO

01 INTRODUCTION 06

02 CLASSIFICATION 07

03 AIM 08

04 MATERIALS REQUIRED 08

05 PROCEDURE 09

06 OBSERVATION 11

07 CONCLUSION 12

08 BIBLIOGRAPHY 13

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 INTRODUCTION

Since before 20BC, humans have utilized pesticides to protect their crops.
The first known pesticide was an elemental Sulphur dust. It was used in ancient
civilization of Mesopotamia about 4500 years ago. By the 15th century, toxic
chemicals such as arsenic, mercury and lead sulphate was extracted from tobacco
leaves for use as an insecticide.

The 19th century saw the introduction of two more natural pesticides,
pyretheum, which is derived from chrysanthemum, and rotenone which is derived
from the roots of tropical vegetables. In the 1940s manufacturers began to products
large amounts of synthetic pesticides and their use became wide spread. Some
sources consider the 1940s and 1950s to have been the start of the “Pesticide era”.
Pesticide and insecticides usage has increased 50-fold since 1950 and 2.3 million
tonnes of pesticides are now used each year.

In 1960s, it was discovered that DDT was preventing many fish-eating birds
from reproducing, which was a serious threat to humanity and biodiversity. The
agricultural use of DDT is now illegal under the stock holmes convention, but it is
still used in some developing nations. But fast forwarding to the future, now in the
past decade, there has been a tremendous increase in the yields of various crops to
meet the demand of overgrowing population, achieved by using pesticides and
insecticides.

Most of the pesticides are non-biodegradable and remain penetrated as such

into plants, fruits and vegetables. From plants they transfer to animals, birds and
human beings who eat these polluted fruits and vegetables. Inside the body they
get accumulated and cause serious health problems. These days preference is given
to biodegradable insecticides like malathion. The presence of Insecticides residues
in even raw samples of wheat, fish, meat, butter etc. have aroused the concern of
agricultural administrators, scientists and health officials all over the world to put a
check over the use of insecticides and to search for non-insecticidal means of pest
control.

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 CLASSIFICATION

Pesticides are classified according to the pests they control. The four main types of
pesticides are:

i) Herbicides
ii) Fungicides
iii) Rodenticides
iv) insecticides

Herbicides: They eliminate plants that grow where they are not wanted. Farmers
use them to reduce weeds in such public areas such as parks and ponds. People use
herbicides in their lawns and gardens to remove crabgrass, dandelions and other
weeds.

Fungicides: Certain fungi cause diseases and can affect both plants and animals,
including human beings. Fungicides control plant diseases that infect food crops.
Wood that is used in building of homes is also protected using fungicides.

Rodenticides: They are used to control rats and other rodents that destroy stored
food. And moreover, rats and rodents also carry very harmful diseases such as
rabies.

Insecticides: Farmers use insecticides to prevent their crops from getting damages
due to insects. In public health areas, public health officials often use them to spray
in areas filled with mosquitoes to keep them away and ensure a peaceful
environment. Mosquitoes also tend to carry germs at some times. People also use
insecticides indoors to keep pests like ants and cockroaches away.

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AIM

To study the presence of insecticides / pesticides (nitrogen containing)

in various fruits and vegetables.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

● Mortar and pestle

● Beakers and Funnel

● Glass rod

● Filter paper

● China dish

● Water bath

● Tripod stand

● Fusion tube

● Knife

● Test tube

Side Requirements: Samples of various fruits and vegetables, alcohol, sodium

metal, ferric chloride, ferrous sulphate crystals, distilled water and dilute
Sulphuric acid.
PROCEDURE

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1)Take different types of fruits and vegetables and cut them into small pieces
separately.

2)Transfer the cut pieces of various fruits and vegetables into it separately and
crush them.

3) Take different kinds for each kind of fruits and vegetables and place the crushed
fruits and vegetables in these beakers and add 100 ml of alcohol to each of these.

4) Stir well and filter. Collect the filtrate in separate china dishes, Evaporate the
alcohol by heating the china dishes one by one over a water bath and let the residue
dry in the sunlight or heat it.

5)Heat a small piece of sodium in a fusion tube, till it melts.

6) Then add one of the above residues from the china dish to this fusion tube and
heat it till red hot.

7)Drop the hot fusion tube in a china dish containing about 10 ml of distilled
water.

8)Break the tube and boil the contents of the china dish for about 5 minutes.

9) Cool and filter the solution. Collect the filtrate. To the filtrate add 1 ml of
freshly prepared ferrous sulphate solution and warm the contents.

10) Then add 2-3 drops of ferric chloride solution and acidify with dilute HCl. If a
blue or green precipitate or coloration is obtained it indicates the presence of
nitrogen containing insecticides.

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11) Repeat the test of nitrogen for residues obtained from other fruits and
vegetables and record the observation.

OBSERVATION

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CONCLUSION

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 Front the above results, we can thus safely conclude that the food we
consume every day is infected with atleast some level of pesticides and
insecticides. We must also consider the fact that the above results are only for
nitrogen containing pesticides and insecticides. Then we can imagine for the other
insecticides and pesticides.

Thus, there are a few things that we as responsible citizens could do.
We can raise awareness about the presence of insecticides and pesticides in food
and thus prevent people from falling sick more often and also strive to invent
alternatives for pesticides and insecticides.

Here are some basic must do activities before consuming any food item: -

➔ First, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables to minimize the potential of

increased exposure to a single pesticide.
➔ Thoroughly wash all produce, even that which is labeled organic and
that which you plan to peel.
➔ Wash your produce under running water rather than soaking or
dunking it.
➔ Dry produce with a clean cloth towel or paper towel when possible.
➔ Scrub firm fruits and vegetables, like melons and root vegetables.
➔ Discard the outer layer of leafy vegetables, such as lettuce or cabbage.
➔ Peel fruits and vegetables when possible.
➔ Trim fat and skin from meat, poultry, and fish to minimize pesticide
residue that may accumulate in the fat.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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● NCERT Chemistry

● Comprehensive practical chemistry

● https://www.seminarsonly.com/Engineering-Projects/Chemistry/Pesticides-

in-Fruits-and-Vegetables.php

● http://npic.orst.edu/

● http://www.slideshare.net/

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