Residue studies on crops

Plant metabolism studies will provide information on the absorption, translocation, dissipation and degradation of the agrochemical. This information defines the residual analytes of regulatory concern that could include either the parent compound or metabolites in the field crops. Plant metabolism studies should be conducted with at least three crop representatives of three different crop groups listed in Table 1. One of the major objectives is to determine the comparative metabolism of the agrochemicals between animals and plants among different plant species. MAFF approves metabolism studies that are conducted in foreign countries, which should be operated under the certified GLP system. 

The test substance is a pure chemical compound, which may or may not be labeled 

Test plants are grown under controlled conditions similar to actual cultivation conditions. 

The formulated product of the test substance should be prepared as a representative formulation for registration (or a formulation of similar composition), and applied to the test plants according to the use pattern indicated in the documents for registration. If several different use patterns are indicated in the documents for registration, studies should be conducted on each. 

Samples are collected at the usual harvest time for each crop. However, when it is very difficult to identify the metabolic pathway on the sample owing to the long preharvest intervals, samples should be collected several times between first application and the usual harvest time. 

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