PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN MELLIFEROUS FLOWERS FROM SITES WITH DIVERSE ANTHROPIC IMPACT

Valentina Cebotari, I. Buzu, Olga Postolachi

Abstract
   The purpose of the research was to assessment of environmental conformity regarding pesticide residues in the flowers of the main melliferous crops in different harvesting sites, with different anthropic impact for the practice of organic apiculture. Scientific research has been carried out on the pesticide residue content of acacia flower samples taken from the forest, apple flowers collected from the industrial orchard and the homegarden of the rural locality, as well as the flowers of sunflower crops from the industrial agricultural field and the homegarden of rural locality. It was established that in the samples of acacia flowers collected from the forest and sunflowers collected from the household garden of the rural locality, have not been registered value detectable residues of the investigated 69 pesticides, which allows us to consider that, organic beekeeping can be practiced in these sites, producing exclusively organic apiculture products. In the samples of apple flowers, collected from the industrial orchard, residues of 26 pesticides from the 69 researches were detected: 5 organophosphorus insecticides, 5 pyrethroid insecticides, 4 neonicotinoid insecticides, 4 triazole fungicides and 4 dicarbosimide fungicides, 2 organochlorine fungicides, 1 organochlorine insecticide and 1 herbicide. Most of the investigated pesticide residues (80.8%) in the apple flower samples collected from the industrial orchard had values below the maximum admissible limit from 2.0% to 238 times. At the same time, at 4 pesticides (5.8%) of the 69 researched in apple flower samples, collected from the industrial orchard, such as Azoxistrobin, Carbendazim-L, Dimetoat and Bitertanol, have average concentrations of residues exceeding the maximum admissible limits, according to EU norms with 40.0-62.5%. In the sunflower samples collected from the industrial agricultural field, detectable levels of residues were recorded in 17 pesticides among the 69 researched, including 6 triazole fungicides, 4 neonicotinoid insecticides, 2 pyrethroid insecticides, 2 dicarbosimide fungicides, 2 herbicides and 1 organophosphorus insecticide. Most of the investigated pesticides (88.2%) in sunflower samples collected from the industrial agricultural field had values below the maximum allowable limits from 12.0% to 114 times. At the same time, 2 pesticides (2.9%) of the 69 researched in the sunflower samples collected from the industrial agricultural field, such as Pendimethalin and Petoxamid, had slightly pollutant concentrations, exceeding the maximum admissible limit, according to the national and EU norms, with 7,0 - 20.0%. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that, the apple orchard flowers and sunflower in the industrial agricultural field, in great majority (except in some cases), do not contain pollutant concentrations of pesticide residues. In any event, in order to protect the health of bee families and to ensure the safety of apiculture products, it is recomended previous testing of industrial orchard apple flowers and of sunflowers of industrial agricultural field to the residues of the most widely used pesticides.

Key words: residues, pesticides, flowers, organic beekeeping