Master’s Degree Awarded to Mr. Khalil Al-Mahqani in Plant Protection

Mr. Khalil Mus’ad Mohammed Al-Mahqani was awarded a Master’s Degree in Plant Protection with for his thesis titled: Multi-residue Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Cucumber and Tomato in Sana’a, which was submitted to the Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment – Sana’a University. The MA defense was held on Saturday, November 8, 2025.

The MA Viva-voce Committee, which was formed based on a resolution issued by the Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Council, consisted of the following:

#	Committee Members	Designation	Position
1	Prof. Abdulrahman Thabet	Internal Examiner	Chair
2	Prof. Jalal Abdulelah Awadh	Main Supervisor	Member
3	Prof. Badr Ismail Abdulrazzaq	External Examiner	Member

The study aimed to:

Apply the QuEChERS method for extracting pesticide residues in cucumber and tomato samples.
Validate the analytical method used to determine pesticide residues in vegetables and fruits using GC/ECD technology.
Estimate the levels of 15 types of pesticides from various chemical groups in cucumber and tomato.

The main findings of the study revealed that:

Some cucumber samples contained residues of the pesticide Chlorfenapyr.
Some tomato samples were contaminated with Chlorfenapyr, Diniconazole, and Lambda-Cyhalothrin.

In light of these findings, the researcher recommended:

Encouraging the implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in Yemen and raising farmers’ awareness through training programs.
Urging the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health to establish a unified monitoring program for pesticide residues in food products available in the markets.
Equipping pesticide residue analysis laboratories with advanced instruments such as HPLC-MS and GC/ECD, and other modern analytical technologies.

The defense session was attended by a number of faculty members, researchers, and postgraduate students from the Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.