Calculation of pesticide degradation in decaying cotton gin trash

Pesticide residues were measured in stockpiled cotton gin trash (CGT) over a 2-year period. Samples were analysed by GC/MS/MS and interpretation of the results was aided by the presence of DDE residues, remnant from prior DDT use. Fourteen pesticide residues from current agricultural practice were detected in CGT. Several of these, including indoxacarb, profenofos, chlorpyrifos, propargite, bifenthrin, ethion and cyhalothrin, were more persistent than expected on the basis of published data for soil dissipation. The results showed a complex pattern of pesticide residue decay over time because of the simultaneous decomposition of the CGT matrix.