Persistence and Dissipation Kinetics of Clothianidin in the Soil of Tropical Sugarcane Ecosystem

Persistence and dissipation kinetics of clothianidin were studied in sandy loam soil of sugarcane ecosystem by adopting a rapid and sensitive analytical method. This single-step analytical method was observed to be superior to multi-step conventional method reported to quantify the residues of clothianidin in soil, in terms of recovery, sensitivity and rapidity besides cost-effectiveness. The recoveries of clothianidin were in the range of 93.19+/-3.07-95.43+/-2.09 % at 0.01-0.1 mu g/g level of fortification in soil. The limit of quantification of the method was 0.01 mu g/g. Dissipation pattern of clothianidin followed first-order kinetics with a good fit (R-2>0.96). Half-life of clothianidin was 17.2 and 17.4 days at the single (50 ga.i./ha) and double doses (100 ga.i./ha), respectively. Clothianidin was observed to be more persistent than imidacloprid and thiamethoxam in the soil of tropical sugarcane ecosystem.