Residual behaviors of terbufos and its metabolites in preceding and succeeding crops following soil application

Soon Ho Gwon; Sung Chul Kim

doi:10.7744/kjoas.520410

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2025 Vol.52, Issue 4 Preview Page Next Page

Food & Chemistry

Residual behaviors of terbufos and its metabolites in preceding and succeeding crops following soil application

1 December 2025. pp. 513-527

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Abstract

Terbufos, an organophosphorus insecticide, has been reported to be absorbed by succeeding crops, raising concerns about food safety. This study investigated the residual behavior of terbufos as an organophosphorus pesticide and its oxidative metabolites, terbufos sulfoxide and terbufos sulfone, in soil and crops. Terbufos (3% granule formulation) was applied to soil at the recommended rate (6 kg·10a^-1, hereafter referred to as 1×) and five times the recommended (hereafter referred to as 5×). Two crops, Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum) as the preceding crop and butterbur (Petasites japonicus) as the succeeding crop, were cultivated in the pesticide-applied soil, and residues of terbufos and its oxidative metabolites were analyzed in the harvest of both tested crops. In the recommended dose treatment, the residue levels calculated as the sum of the tebufos-relevant compounds were determined below the maximum residue limit for Welsh onion (0.05 mg·kg^-1) and Positive List System (PLS)-requiring detection limit for butterbur (0.01 mg·kg^-1). However, residues of terbufos and its oxidative metabolites exceeded the maximum residual limit (MRL) when the pesticide was applied at five times the recommended rate. Time-course soil measurements yielded observed 50% disappearance time (DT₅₀) of approximately 42.5 days for terbufos sulfoxide and 52.3 days for terbufos sulfone in the 1× treatment, and 47.0 days for terbufos sulfoxide and 62.8 days for terbufos sulfone in the 5× treatment. These observed values include formation from the parent compound, and to determine intrinsic metabolite degradation rates, metabolite spike studies or isotope/radiolabel tracing are required. The observed DT₅₀ for terbufos sulfoxide and terbufos sulfone (approximately 42.5 - 62.8 days) reflect both formation from the parent compound and subsequent degradation, and therefore do not represent intrinsic metabolite degradation rates; direct quantitative comparison with the parent compound DT₅₀ (11.6 days for 1× and 12.5 days for 5×) is not warranted. Nonetheless, the temporal profiles indicate that the oxidative metabolites tended to persist longer in soil and reached higher relative abundances in above-ground plant tissues than the parent compound under our experimental conditions, suggesting a potential for metabolite accumulation, particularly at elevated application rates. These findings demonstrate that terbufos is safe under recommended usage, but its oxidative metabolites may accumulate in above-ground crops, highlighting the need for cautious management and monitoring of its residues.

Keywords

crop uptake

oxidative metabolites

soil

terbufos

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Information

Publisher :Institute of Agricultural Science, Chungnam National University
Publisher(Ko) :충남대학교 농업과학연구소
Journal Title :Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
Journal Title(Ko) :농업과학연구
Volume : 52
No :4
Pages :513-527
Received Date : 2025-08-27
Revised Date : 2025-09-08
Accepted Date : 2025-09-10
DOI :https://doi.org/10.7744/kjoas.520410

Korean Journal of Agricultural Science ISSN:2466-2402(Print) 2466-2410(Online) 농업과학연구

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