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Drawdown Farming and Pesticide Residue Levels of the Afram River in Ghana

Received: 6 May 2016     Accepted: 16 May 2016     Published: 30 May 2016
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Abstract

Cultivation of fruits and vegetables in the drawdown areas (floodplains) of the Afram River relies on pesticides input for enhanced productivity. Application of pesticides in the floodplains can elevate its level in the water and have health implications. Pesticides content of the Afram River at normal level (recess regime) was compared with the flood regime to determine if farming in the drawdown areas has any impact on water quality. Water samples were taken twice during each regime over two consecutive years and pesticide residues were analysed by gas chromatography. The flood periods registered 14 organochlorines, 12 organophosphates and 9 pyrethroids, with respective mean concentration ranges: 0.01 – 16.79, 0.01 – 2.14, 0.01 -1.12 µg/L; as against 10 organochlorines, 11 organophosphates and 4 pyrethroids quantified during the recess regimes, with respective mean concentration ranges of: 0.01 – 0.27, 0.01 – 0.37, 0.01 – 0.158 µg/L. Levels of 9 pesticides exceeded WHO/EU maximum residue limits for the flood period, in contrast to only 1 during the recess. Dieldrin, endrin, chlorpyrifos and β-endosulfan exceeded quality criteria limits for the protection of aquatic life during flood regime. Welch two sample t-test on common pesticides quantified during both periods show significantly higher concentrations (p ≤ 0.05) during flood regimes. It is concluded that drawdown farming increases the incidence and concentration of pesticides in water during flood periods and presents health risk to the consuming communities and aquatic life.

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 4, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16
Page(s) 102-109
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Pesticides, Drawdown, Afram River, Organochlorines, Organophosphates, Pyrethroids

References
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[14] Ize-Iyamu, O. K.; Asia, I. O. and Egwakhide, P. A. (2007). Concentrations of residues from organochlorine pesticide in water and fish from some rivers in Edo State Nigeria. International Journal of Physical Sciences. 2 (9): 237-241. Retrieved from: http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1380213547_Ize-Iyamu%20et%20al.pdf
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Koranteng Samuel Senyo, Ameka Gabriel Komla, Owusu Ebenezer Oduro. (2016). Drawdown Farming and Pesticide Residue Levels of the Afram River in Ghana. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 4(3), 102-109. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16

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    ACS Style

    Koranteng Samuel Senyo; Ameka Gabriel Komla; Owusu Ebenezer Oduro. Drawdown Farming and Pesticide Residue Levels of the Afram River in Ghana. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2016, 4(3), 102-109. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16

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    AMA Style

    Koranteng Samuel Senyo, Ameka Gabriel Komla, Owusu Ebenezer Oduro. Drawdown Farming and Pesticide Residue Levels of the Afram River in Ghana. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2016;4(3):102-109. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16,
      author = {Koranteng Samuel Senyo and Ameka Gabriel Komla and Owusu Ebenezer Oduro},
      title = {Drawdown Farming and Pesticide Residue Levels of the Afram River in Ghana},
      journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
      volume = {4},
      number = {3},
      pages = {102-109},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20160403.16},
      abstract = {Cultivation of fruits and vegetables in the drawdown areas (floodplains) of the Afram River relies on pesticides input for enhanced productivity. Application of pesticides in the floodplains can elevate its level in the water and have health implications. Pesticides content of the Afram River at normal level (recess regime) was compared with the flood regime to determine if farming in the drawdown areas has any impact on water quality. Water samples were taken twice during each regime over two consecutive years and pesticide residues were analysed by gas chromatography. The flood periods registered 14 organochlorines, 12 organophosphates and 9 pyrethroids, with respective mean concentration ranges: 0.01 – 16.79, 0.01 – 2.14, 0.01 -1.12 µg/L; as against 10 organochlorines, 11 organophosphates and 4 pyrethroids quantified during the recess regimes, with respective mean concentration ranges of: 0.01 – 0.27, 0.01 – 0.37, 0.01 – 0.158 µg/L. Levels of 9 pesticides exceeded WHO/EU maximum residue limits for the flood period, in contrast to only 1 during the recess. Dieldrin, endrin, chlorpyrifos and β-endosulfan exceeded quality criteria limits for the protection of aquatic life during flood regime. Welch two sample t-test on common pesticides quantified during both periods show significantly higher concentrations (p ≤ 0.05) during flood regimes. It is concluded that drawdown farming increases the incidence and concentration of pesticides in water during flood periods and presents health risk to the consuming communities and aquatic life.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Drawdown Farming and Pesticide Residue Levels of the Afram River in Ghana
    AU  - Koranteng Samuel Senyo
    AU  - Ameka Gabriel Komla
    AU  - Owusu Ebenezer Oduro
    Y1  - 2016/05/30
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16
    T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
    JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
    JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
    SP  - 102
    EP  - 109
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7667
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.16
    AB  - Cultivation of fruits and vegetables in the drawdown areas (floodplains) of the Afram River relies on pesticides input for enhanced productivity. Application of pesticides in the floodplains can elevate its level in the water and have health implications. Pesticides content of the Afram River at normal level (recess regime) was compared with the flood regime to determine if farming in the drawdown areas has any impact on water quality. Water samples were taken twice during each regime over two consecutive years and pesticide residues were analysed by gas chromatography. The flood periods registered 14 organochlorines, 12 organophosphates and 9 pyrethroids, with respective mean concentration ranges: 0.01 – 16.79, 0.01 – 2.14, 0.01 -1.12 µg/L; as against 10 organochlorines, 11 organophosphates and 4 pyrethroids quantified during the recess regimes, with respective mean concentration ranges of: 0.01 – 0.27, 0.01 – 0.37, 0.01 – 0.158 µg/L. Levels of 9 pesticides exceeded WHO/EU maximum residue limits for the flood period, in contrast to only 1 during the recess. Dieldrin, endrin, chlorpyrifos and β-endosulfan exceeded quality criteria limits for the protection of aquatic life during flood regime. Welch two sample t-test on common pesticides quantified during both periods show significantly higher concentrations (p ≤ 0.05) during flood regimes. It is concluded that drawdown farming increases the incidence and concentration of pesticides in water during flood periods and presents health risk to the consuming communities and aquatic life.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS), University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana

  • Department of Plant and Environmental Biology, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana

  • Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana

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