Both researchers have an interest in gardening, so when formulating a topic to explore residual pesticides on produce became a topic of interest. After investigating, we found that to determine pesticide specific residue would require expensive laboratory equipment. It was then that a total dissolves solids (TDS) meter was brought to our attention. A TDS meter would allow us to calculate residual material left on an item after being rinsed with water, by taking a before and after reading. Thus our topic for research is determining whether roadside or grocery store apples have the least amount of residual material on them.
This far, we have drafted emails to send out to three university professors of agriculture in order to have some insight into what they recommend, their opinions and overall thoughts on the topic. In addition to a prospective professional contact, 12 sources have been collected and reviewed in regards to the research being conducted. The majority of them were found through google scholar, with some being found through universities and MeL. The sources that were found in pesticide and residual material testing only used professional laboratory equipment that is out of our hands. Some methods that were conducted rinsed produce then tested the water, but again did not use a TDS meter. Our research will be one of the first to use the TDS meter method for finding residual materials on produce.
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ReshearchersSenior at Macomb Math Science and Technology Center Archives
December 2017
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