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In order to evaluate the pesticide residue levels in apricots in Shanxi Province, an ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established for the determination of 29 pesticides such as imidacloprid and difenoconazole in apricots, and the pesticide residues in apricot samples were analyzed. The results showed that the linearity of 29 pesticides were acceptable in the range of 0.001~0.2 mg/kg with R 2 > 0.99. The average recoveries ranged from 63% to 117% with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.7% to 7.7% at the spiked levels of 0.005, 0.1 and 1 mg/kg, and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.005 mg/kg, which met the requirements of pesticide multi-residue analysis. The established method was used to analyze 42 apricot samples collected in Shanxi Province, and the results showed that the pesticides were detected in 26 of the 42 apricot samples, with a detection rate of 61.9%. Imidacloprid had the highest detection rate (45.2%), and the residue levels ranged from < 0.005~0.57 mg/kg. A total of 13 pesticides were detected, none of which were registered on apricots, indicating that as a distinctive minor crop, there are problems in the pests control of apricot, such as the lack of pesticides available and no standards to follow, which affected the safety of agricultural products. By comparing the current status of pesticide residue limit standards in apricot in China with that in other countries, it is suggested that the pesticide residue supervision should be strengthened in China, and the necessity and feasibility of the establishment of MRL of five pesticides, namely cyazofamid, epoxiconazole, etoxazole, paclobutrazol and pyridaben, in apricot should be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]