Determination of Pesticide Residues in Soils of Cotton Farming Areas in Togo

Abstract

The main cash crop in Togo is cotton, with about 70% of agricultural exports. This crop is very dependent on the use of chemical inputs, in particular pesticides. Pesticides used in cotton farming in Togo include organochlorines, triazines, organophosphates and pyrethroids. We conducted a study on the impact of these pesticide use, in particular organochlorines and triazines, on cotton farming soils. We chose the Plateaux region (southern Togo) as the study area because of its high cotton production. Analysis was carried out on crop soil samples at the 0 - 20 cm horizon. Several pesticide residues were found: simazine (0.051 to 0.103 µg/Kg soil); atrazine (0.149 to 0.197 µg/Kg soil); lindane (0.259 to 0.672 µg/Kg soil); β-endosulfan (1.37 to 5.727 µg/Kg soil); dieldrin (0.063 to 1.16 µg/Kg soil); endrin (0.512 µg/Kg soil), Heptachlor (0.489 to 1.243 µg/Kg soil); Heptachlor epoxide (0.928 to 1.633 µg/Kg soil); [2,4'DDT] (0.257 µg/Kg soil); [4,4'DDE] (0.262 µg/Kg soil). These results show pesticide contamination of cotton farming soils.