Residue determination of captan and folpet in vegetable samples by gas chromatography/negative chemical ionization-mass spectrometry

A gas chromatography/negative chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (GC/NCI-MS) method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of the fungicides captan and folpet in khaki (persimmon; flesh and peel) and cauliflower. Samples were extracted with acetone in the presence of 0.1 M zinc acetate solution in order to avoid degradation of fungicides and were purified using solid-phase extraction with divinylbenzene polymeric cartridges. Purified extracts were evaporated and dissolved in hexane prior to injection into the GC/NCI-MS system. Isotope-labeled captan and folpet were used as surrogate/internal standards, and quantification was performed using matrix-matched calibration. The method showed linear response in the concentration range tested (50-2500 ng/mL). The method was fully validated with untreated blank samples of khaki (flesh and peel) and cauliflower spiked at 0.05 and 0.5 mg/kg. Satisfactory recoveries between 82 and 106% and relative standard deviations lower than 11% in all cases (n = 5) were obtained. The limit of detection for both compounds were estimated to be 0.01 mg/kg. The developed method has been applied to treated and untreated samples collected from residue trials

Residue levels of captan and trichlorfon in field-treated kaki fruits, individual versus composite samples, and after household processing

The dissipation of residue levels of captan and trichlorfon in field-treated kaki crops was studied according to good laboratory practices to propose maximum residue limits (MRLs). Residue levels of captan and trichlorfon were analysed by GC/MS and LC-MS/MS, respectively. Residue levels of captan and trichlorfon permitted one to propose MRLs in kaki of 3 and 5 mg-1, respectively. The behaviour of these residues was also studied after peeling and cooking, and in individual fruits versus composite samples. Residue levels of these compounds for individual fruits suggested that a variability factor up to three could be set for the acute risk assessment. Levels of captan decreased by more than 90% after peeling and completely after cooking. Trichlorfon penetrates into the flesh in a proportion of 70% of the residue at the pre-harvest interval. Cooking resulted in a decrease of 27% of residue levels of trichlorfon. © 2006 Taylor & Francis

Molecular and quantitative genetics of stone pine (Pinus pinea)

The Mediterranean stone pine is currently on its way to domestication. Its genuine Mediterranean pine nuts are among the most expensive nuts in the world because they are mainly wild-collected from pine forests and woodlands. Despite the wide current distribution of stone pine over the whole Mediterranean biome, old-growth forests are scarce, often associated locally with dynamics on lose sands, coastal dunes or former estuary marshes. The species has been found to be genetically depauperate, putatively due to a population bottleneck in a local refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum confirmed in southern Iberia, and a possibly anthropic range expansion during Holocene. Only recently, cone harvesting and processing mechanisation have allowed for profitable pine nut production from orchard plantations. In Spain and Portugal, first elite clones have been registered for their use as grafted orchard crop