Abstract 

By Kathryn Barr
            DDT was a popular pesticide in the mid 20th century for commercial crop production. It is a persistent organic pollutant, so it remains in the environment for decades as DDT or its dechlorinated metabolites DDE and DDD. DDT, DDE, and DDD are able to a bioaccumulate and translocate to areas where DDT was not sprayed. In addition, many studies have correlated these compounds with human health and environmental effects. They are xenobiotics that can disturb endocrine function resulting in infertility, pre-mature births, and thinning of bird’s eggshells. It has been reported that the rate of degradation of DDT is affected by various farming techniques like tillage, irrigation techniques, and fertilizers. Therefore, this project aims to determine if different farming techniques affect the decomposition of DDT in north Georgia farms that historically grew cotton. Soil samples were taken from historical cotton farms, where a detailed land history was known. Each site underwent incremental sampling methodology, where 3 composite samples are taken from each site in various spots to create a robust and homogenous sample. After drying and sieving, the DDT, DDE, and DDD was extracted in accordance with the QuEChERS method, and the concentration of the compounds were quantified with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The preliminary analysis has concluded that an increase in irrigation and tillage leads to more degradation of DDT into DDE and DDD. However, more fertilizer use and less irrigation leads to less degradation of the DDT into DDE and DDD.