The study was conducted on 543 samples collected from different parts of the state, produced between January and December 2017. All the samples collected from Kottayam, Kannur and Wayanad were completely free of pesticides. According to a report submitted by the Kerala Agricultural University, 93.6 percentage of vegetables produced in the state last year were free of pesticides. The study revealed that green chilies from Kasaragod, Kozhikode and cucumber from Malappuram, curry leaves from Alappuzha and green beans from Idukki had the presence of pesticides in them.
Also recorded was the presence of pesticides in two samples each of red spinach, snake gourd, cabbage, green beans, winged beans and one sample each of yellow capsicum, dry red chili, curry leaves, green chili, yard-long beans from Thiruvananthapuram.
The ivy gourd, yard-long beans, green chilli collected from Kollam, yard-long beans and green chilli collected from Pathanamthitta and Thrissur showed pesticides at levels above the legal limits.
Samples of broad beans, yard-long beans and green chilli collected from Palakkad also had pesticides on them.
