Plant extracts are commonly referred to as plant botanicals and are the secondary plant metabolites synthesized by the plant for protective purposes. Some of these compounds are toxic to insects. These plant compounds are called botanical pesticides, plant pesticides or simply botanicals. Many of the plant botanicals are used as insecticides both in homes, in commercial as well as in subsistence agriculture by small-scale farmers. They may be contact, respiratory or stomach poisons. Botanicals are not very selective because they target a broad range of insect pests. Plant insecticides act in several ways: as repellents by driving the insects away due to smell or taste, as anti feedants which cause insects on the plants to reduce their food intake and hence starve them to death; as oviposition deterrents, by preventing insects from laying egg; or as inhibitors by interfering with the life cycle of the insects. Plant insecticides
However, the regulatory environment and public health needs should create opportunities for the use of safer botanicals in since human and animal health is paramount. Botanicals may also find use in organic food production, both in the field and in controlled environments for export to developed countries where strict pesticide levels are strictly monitored in horticultural products before export. In addition the greatest benefits from botanicals might be achieved in developing countries, where human pesticide poisonings are most prevalent. In Africa ex‐ tracts of locally available plants have been traditionally used as crop protectants, when used alone or in mixtures. In fact indigenous knowledge and traditional practice can make valuable contributions to domestic food production in countries where strict enforcement of pesticide regulations is not applied (Isman,
There are many issues regarding the raising and producing of various livestock animals, and the use of pesticides on various types of crops. The movie Food.Inc does a good job explaining these issues, but in a very biased way. It makes agriculturists look like terrible people, when this is not the case.
The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a highly disruptive species that can, and has played a distinctive role in the lives of many organisms. Included in these organisms are various deciduous trees and shrubs, wildlife species that share the same environment, and even humans. The gypsy moth destroys the beauty of woodlands via defoliation, alters ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and disrupts our own lives. It should therefore come as no surprise that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and many other agencies have taken huge steps to help diminish populations of this small, yet persistent species. In an effort to control these overwhelming populations, five chemical control agents have been used to suppress and/or eradicate the gypsy moth. Following, is a discussion of each chemical and their potentially hazardous effects on humans.
What is a pesticide?A pesticide is a chemical substance used to kill pests, especially insects. A pesticide is also refered to as a biocide. Most pesticides are applied in spray form but occasionaly you will see pesticides that are in powder or pellet form. Pesticides are used on a variety of things, anything from crops like corn, barley, and wheat, to plants like petunias, marigolds, and rhodadendrons, which are usually found in small gardens greenhouses, and even in your backyard.
The spinosad insecticide is very active and effective in controlling insects and pests. It acts on both contact and ingestion by an insect. The insecticide is subjective to the stages of life of an insect such as larvae or adult stages and the insect species. The insecticide mode of action is through the neural mechanism. It affects the neural transmissions and processes of an insect. Spinosad is applied to field crops during the entire growth process as specified. It is applied to crops such as flowers, vegetables, fruit trees and also cereals. Some flower farmers spray their crops before harvest to rid them off harmful insects (Kole, 1995). Farmers use spinosad insecticide to kill harmful insects that destroy their crops and spread diseases lowering the yield. It is also used to control storage pests that destroy cereals stored in bins. Quality food produce is another reason for the applying the insecticide.
Have you ever thought about how your fruits and vegetables are grown? How about which ingredients are put into bug sprays and insecticides to ward off those pesky insects? Look no further because author Rachel Carson looks deep into the many environmental issues caused by pesticides and herbicides in her New York Times best-selling novel, “Silent Spring.” “Silent Spring” is a collection of studies which were performed in an effort to educate others about the harmful things occurring everyday to their foods and every-day environment in hopes of giving them a wake up call. This novel is thought by many to be a revolutionary novel that forced people to take notice of the harm being caused in their world, many of which people were unaware of. After discovering the results of these chemicals, it really makes one wonder, is the luxury of being insect free really worth all of the consequences?
A question commonly associated with the word insecticides is, what are they? Well I have the answer, insecticides are chemicals that are used to eliminate insects. In the agricultural industry, insecticides are classified into different categories,and the most used is carcinogenic. A carcinogenic insecticide is a substance or agent producing or causing cancer. This is just one of the reason that I believe there are more cons then pros when dealing with a insecticide.. When I was a kid , I can remember my parents taking me and my brother an apple orchard and picking apples. I couldn't wait to eat them until I got home, but we couldn't eat an apple because of what insecticides could be on the apple
Civilization began with agriculture, and agriculture continues to be an integral part of our lives. Civilization brought knowledge, knowledge brought technology, and technology brought chemicals and pesticides to “improve” our world. “The Obligation to Endure” is an excerpt from Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” a passionate and masterful work on the results of civilization’s efforts to control pests and insects. These effects include destruction of the environment, alteration of gene structures in plants and animals, water contamination, and an upset of nature’s delicate balance. This article is an impassioned plea to the world to understand the threat and demand the information necessary to make an informed consent on use of these deadly substances.
Albert Schweitzer once stated, “Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation” (Tbach) In the 1900’s, technology has discovered chemical substances that can easily terminate parasites and other disease transmitting insects. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, known as DDT, and other pesticides usage sored as corporate made huge profit out of them. What public did not acknowledge, however, was malignant effects caused by these chemically mortified substances. As DDT usage increased, insidious dangers destroyed both ecosystem and human health; with her book, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson drew attention to the hazards of pesticides, especially DDT, and triggered a movement that would eventually succeed in banning DDT.
This essay has therefore discussed the most popular classes of plant chemical defences, namely terpenes, phenolics, nitrogen-based defences and allelopathy. The effects of these defences on herbivores has also been touched on. Many of these compounds produced by plants have later been extracted by humans for use as insecticides. Compounds such as tannins are also used in the wine industry. These chemicals thus have a very strong economic influence.
LaJeunesse, S.. Common crop pesticides kill honeybee larvae in the hive. Penn State | News. 27 January 2014.
To help keep crops from being destroyed, conventional farmers use many methods such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Nearly 1 billion pounds of these chemicals are used every year (“pesticides”). Because of this excessive use, some scientists express concern that using artificial chemicals in the farming process could produce unhealthy crops. People who ate it over a long period of time could suffer from degraded health and stunted growth (“Organic Foods”). For example, in 1989, the EPA banned the use of Alar which was a chemical used to ripen apples (“Farming, Organics”). This chemical proved to be carcinogenic after causing tumors in mice after several laboratory tests (“Organic Food”). As a result of these findings there was a dramatic increase of the sales for organic food (“Organic Food”). Another study found that Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States) has the potential of being carcinogenic and reducing sperm counts in males (“Organic Food”). This was further proven when evidence was found that chemicals u...
As time has progressed, there has always been an overarching need for high amounts of crop production throughout the world. With the rapid rate of population growth, the need for crops and other sources of nutrients is only increasing. In order to meet these high demands and increase yields, farmers and other agriculturalists have started implementing the use of pesticides. These chemical mixtures are being used in order to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pests from destroying growing crops. However, using pesticides on crops can create massive amounts of pollution, negatively affect an individual’s health, and can spark biodiversity loss within an ecosystem. According to Michael C.R. Alavanja, “Over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used within the United States (US) each year and approximately 5.6 billion pounds are used worldwide”. With all this in mind, it is clear that pesticides should not be made available to farmers and agriculturalists, and should
The new chemicals which are produced to kill these strong pests and weeds may be more harmful to other plants and remove nutrients within the soil, in turn reducing the yield of agricultural crops. The benefits of these characteristics are seen in Argentina according to Pelletier (2010) as they use glyphosphate resistant soybean which allowed the comeback of this crop, as the soil was severely damaged from monoculture (The cultivation of a single crop in a defined area).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Biological Pest Control is Better than Chemical Control A pesticide is any agent used to kill pests or control the incidence of insect pests, plant pathogens and weed populations. Biological control is the control of pest and weeds using specially chosen living organisms or biological products, whereas chemical control is the use of pesticides or chemicals to kill or control pests. Predators or parasites are used to keep the pest population low. Insects move, leaving their enemies behind, so by introducing their natural enemies to the environment the number of pests and their effect on the surroundings decreases. The population of the enemy can be increased by mass production in a lab.
The pesticide is a controversial topic since farmers are used it to gain their yield. Especially, pesticide is discovered during World War II as a chemical weapon that mixture of multiple chemicals together to kill human. Therefore, Chantries redesign pesticide to kill an organism where and when we don’t want it. Because people want to go to the grocery store to buy the perfect product, pesticide makes it happens and with a little cost for farmers. Nonetheless, pesticide also is the expenditure of life expectancy, which directly threatens people and poses risk of mortality rate. Abusing the pesticide has multiple affects on our society, (Add). (Add thesis)