Biodegradation of endosulfan (α and β) and pendimethalin by Bacillus safensis strain FO-36b^T, Bacillus subtilis subsp. inaquosorum strain KCTC 13429^T and Bacillus cereus strain ATCC14579^T isolated from pesticides-polluted soil was studied in mineral salt medium. Endosulfan and pendimethalin were incubated with the three bacterial strains with samples drawn at various intervals for GC analysis. Representative samples were subject to GC–MS analysis. The loss in the initial concentrations, 0.663 mM (α endosulfan), 0.319 mM (β endosulfan) and 1.423 mM (pendimethalin), was monitored and used to compute the half-lives following biphasic model. Removal percentage of endosulfan and pendimethalin in the media inoculated with the bacterial strains ranged from 24 to 95% (α endosulfan), 21–91% (β endosulfan) and 51–97% (pendimethalin), respectively. Despite the significant decrease in starting material in B. safensis cultures, no metabolites were detected, whereas two major metabolites of endosulfan, 1,2,3,4,7,7-hexachloro-5,6-dihydroxybicyclo{2.2.1}-2-heptene and 1,2,3,4,7,7-hexachloro-formaldehyde-6-methylbicyclo{2.2.1}-2-heptene, were detected in the B. subtilis cultures, and one metabolite of pendimethalin metabolite; N-(1-ethylpropyl)-3-methyl-2, 6-diaminobenzine, was detected in the B. cereus culture. Generally, the result indicates the potential capability of these microorganisms in complete mineralization of endosulfan and pendimethalin. Based on half-lives, the efficiency of bacterial strains can be ordered as follows: B. subtilis > B. cereus > B. safensis for endosulfan and B. cereus > B. safensis > B. subtilis for pendimethalin.

Pesticides have been used for decades to protect agricultural products and increase productivity by controlling crop pests. However, the frequent application of pesticides on crops or soil leads to the accumulation of their residues in the environment, which will be subsequently absorbed by plants and finally translocated to edible parts. This study aimed to investigate the uptake of soil-applied dinotefuran and three major metabolites by lettuce and celery from the previous season’s applications and analyze their residues in soil and consumable parts. Dinotefuran was soil-applied at plant back intervals of 30 and 60 days (PBI-30 and PBI-60). Residues of dinotefuran and its metabolites in 50% and 100% mature lettuce leaves and celery shoots, soil after application, at planting, and at 50% and 100% plant maturity were estimated. Half-lives and bio-concentration factors were calculated. The uptake of dinotefuran by lettuce and celery ranged between 23.8% and 28% and between 51.73% and 53.06%, respectively. Respective half-lives (days) of dinotefuran applied on PBI-30 and PBI-60 were 1.33–1.54 and 0.91–2.16 in lettuce soil and 0.9–1.47 and 0.79–1.65 in celery soil. Residues were below Korean MRLs in PBI-60 and most PBI-30 samples. The calculated risk assessment parameters indicated that negligible risk could be expected. The current study recommends growing the next crop 60 days after harvesting the first crop, but not less than 30 days.

In this study, the residual behavior and safety of cyantraniliprole and indoxacarb applied to wild garlic (Allium vineale) were investigated. Samples were harvested after treatments of 0, 3, 7, and 14 days, then were prepared and extracted following the QuEChERS method and analyzed by UPLC-MS/MS. The linearity (R² ≥ 0.99) of the calibration curves was excellent for both compounds. The average recoveries of cyantraniliprole and indoxacarb at two spiking concentrations (0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg) ranged from 94.2% to 111.4%. The relative standard deviation value was below 10%. The initial concentrations of cyantraniliprole and indoxacarb in wild garlic were degraded to 75% and 93% after seven days. The average half-lives were 1.83 and 1.14 days for cyantraniliprole and indoxacarb, respectively. The preharvest intervals (PHIs) for the two pesticides in wild garlic are recommended as two treatments seven days before harvest. The safety assessment data indicated that the percent acceptable daily intakes of cyantraniliprole and indoxacarb were 0.3 × 10⁻⁴% and 6.7 × 10⁻²%, respectively, in wild garlic. The theoretical maximum daily intake value of cyantraniliprole was 9.80%, and that of indoxacarb was 60.54%. Both compounds’ residues in wild garlic pose low health risks to consumers. The findings of the current investigation provide essential data for the safe use of cyantraniliprole and indoxacarb in wild garlic.