Evaluation of toxic residues in cotton gin trash used as a roughage supplement by sheep farmers in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

A cotton gin trash is a by-product generated when cotton fibres are separated from cotton seed in the gin. It is commonly used as a roughage supplement by sheep farmers in Karur and Tiruppur districts of Tamil Nadu without much scientific information on its toxic content and feeding value. Based on field study, six samples of each coarse (Kotta panju) and fine (Micro waste panju) cotton gin trash samples were collected and pesticides were screened by the Gas chromatography -Mass spectrometer and revealed that pesticides were not detected in both types of cotton gin trash samples. The heavy metals were quantified using inductively coupled plasma-Mass spectrometer. The arsenic level in coarse and fine were 0.43±0.04 ppm and 0.42±0.04 ppm. The cadmium level was 0.080±0.01 and 0.075±0.01 in coarse and fine samples respectively. The chromium content of the fine samples (3.50±0.12) was significantly (p