Detection of Endosulfan Residues in The Soil of Jordan Valley

One hundred sixty soil samples were collected from ten separate locations in the Jordan Valley extending from Pardala (north) to Jericho city (south). The residues ofthe most widely used insecticide (endosulian) in the collected soil samples at different depths (from 0 to 30 cm and 30 to 60 cm) were detected using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The endosulfan residues in the collected samples has been determined and compared . Or the other hand, the endosulfan residues in the soil at the two depth levels has been determined in order to obtain a correlation between the pesticide residues and soil depth. Results have indicated that mean values of the pesticide residues (cx and B-isomers) in the locations of northern part of Jordan Valley were higher than that in the southern part. For the same location. residues in the soil at 0 to 30 cm soil depth were always higher than that at 30 to 60 cm depth, significant differences in this respect were obtained. Comparison of the levels of total pesticide residues determined in the soil of Jordan Valley during this study with those conducted on the same pesticide in other countries demonstrated the presence of higher pesticide residue levels under our conditions, therefore the dose and frequency of pesticide application should be reduced.