THE USE OF PESTICIDES IN AGRICULTURE HAS LED TO AN INCREASE IN FARM PRODUCTIVITY. HOWEVER, PESTICIDE RESIDUES MAY REMAIN ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND RAISE PUBLIC CONCERNS ABOUT THEIR POTENTIAL HAZARDS TO HUMAN HEALTH. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO INVESTIGATE THE PERSISTENCE BEHAVIORS OF PESTICIDES ON FRESH PRODUCE, WITH A FOCUS ON THE IMPACT OF THREE MAJOR ADJUVANTS, I.E. SURFACTANT, OIL, ACIDIFIER/BUFFER USED IN PESTICIDE FORMULATIONS ON PESTICIDE PERSISTENCE. THE UNIQUE TECHNIQUE TO STUDY PESTICIDE PERSISTENCE ON FRESH PRODUCE IS SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPIC MAPPING THAT WE DEVELOPED FROM A PRIOR USDA-NIFA FUNDED PROJECT. WE WILL ALSO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY BASED ON COMMON HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS, E.G. BAKING SODA, RICE STARCH AND TABLE SALT, TO REDUCE PESTICIDE RESIDUES ON FRESH PRODUCE. THE OBJECTIVES OUTLINED IN THIS PROPOSED STUDY ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE CALL OF PROGRAM AREA PRIORITIES (CODE - A 1332) TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS FOR REDUCING CONTAMINANTS IN FOODS;. THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS STUDY WILL 1) OBTAIN IN DEPTH KNOWLEDGE ON THE PESTICIDE PERSISTENCE ON AND IN FRESH PRODUCE AND 2) ESTABLISH AN EFFECTIVE AND CONVENIENT STRATEGY THAT CAN BE UTILIZED BY HOUSEHOLD CONSUMERS TO REDUCE PESTICIDE RESIDUES ON FRESH PRODUCE. THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS RESEARCH WILL FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE AND SAFER PESTICIDE FORMULATIONS FOR FRESH PRODUCE, REDUCE THE RISK OF PESTICIDE EXPOSURE FROM FRESH PRODUCE, AND PROVIDE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE FRESH PRODUCE INDUSTRY, AND THUS FACILITATE THE LONG-TERM STABILITY, SAFETY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEM.