The term “pesticide” refers to any product that attracts, repels, or kills any kind of pest, though it is most commonly associated with plant protection products. It is a chemical agent which harms, kills, repels or in any way discourages pests (such as insects, weeds, birds, mammals, and fish) which destroy property or crops, or spread disease.
There are many different types of pesticides, including insecticides (which kill insects), herbicides (which kill plants) and fungicides (which kill fungi).
Many pesticides can be grouped into chemical families.
Some insecticide families include organochlorines, organophosphates, and carbamates. Organochlorine hydrocarbons could be separated into dichlorodiphenylethanes (DDT), cyclodiene compounds and other related compounds. They work by disrupting the sodium/potassium balance of the nerve fiber, resulting in the nerve transmitting continuously.
Organophosphate and carbamates operate through inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, allowing acetylcholine to transfer nerve impulses indefinitely and causing a variety of symptoms such as weakness or paralysis
Some families of herbicides include phenoxy and benzoic acid herbicides and triazines. Phenoxy compounds tend to selectively kill broad-leaf weeds rather than grasses and Triazines interfere with photosynthesis.
In 2009, there was a development of a new family of fungicides called paldoxins. These work by taking advantage of natural defense chemicals released by plants called phytoalexins, which fungi then detoxify using enzymes. The paldoxins inhibit the fungi's detoxification enzymes. They are believed to be safer and greener.
The use of pesticides connect to the unit of chemistry because pesticides are chemically manufactured p...
... middle of paper ...
...to reverse the effects of these pesticides, but there are ways to help! Instead of using harmful chemicals, there are many alternative methods of pest control that are very effective, and even more cost efficient than most store bought pesticides. It is very important to be aware of where your produce is coming from, and opting for the naturally grown organic fruits and vegetables instead of the cheaper, processed goods.
Works Cited
http://agrochemicals.iupac.org/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=3&sobi2Id=31 http://npic.orst.edu/envir/air.html http://longbeach.wsu.edu/cranberries/documents/howlongdoinsecticideresiduespersist.pdf http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/n2o.html http://www.footprint.wwf.org.uk/topics/show/243 http://ourfutureplanet.org/component/youtopia/Max123/issues/36 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide
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.
Many control methods were carried out to suppress the pest population and keep it under the economic injury level. The recent intensive research is concerned mainly with avoiding the serious problems resulted from using harmful insecticides that cause harmful residues in the food chain and pollution of the surrounding natural enemies and pest resistance (Salwa et al., 2001).
What is a pesticide? A pesticide is a substance meant for attracting, seducing, destroying, or mitigating a pest. They are known as a class of biocide. The common use of pesticides is as plant protection products. This in general protects plants from damaging influences, such as weeds, plant diseases, or insects (“Pesticides” Wikipedia).
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...
There is many different types of pesticides today. They major classes range anywhere from Acaricide, which targets; mites, ticks, and spiders to Synergist Which improves the performance of another pesticide. Here are the major classes of pesticides:
...ortation of plants, fruits, vegetables, and animals. Indiscriminate pesticide use kills the good with the bad. Long term and wide spread pesticide use poisons underground water sources, which, in turn, poison plants, animals, and humans. And, finally, by our uninformed actions, new super races of pests continue to evolve and create even greater dangers than the original.
Pesticides and Fertilizer run off from farms causes an overwhelming negative effects on the environment. Pesticides contaminate the water and poison fish both killing them and causing biological magnification in the fish that are higher up in the food chain. When humans eat these fish the risk of being harmed by pesticides is increased. Tobacco plants were engineered to express a gene that detoxifies 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate ( 2,4-D), one of the most commonly used pesticides world wide, and removes it from the soil.
The development of new and chemical products with novel modes of action, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) are factors that contribute to the reduction of pesticide resistance(Whalon et al. 2008). Effectively managing pesticide resistance will also help in reducing the harmful effects of pesticides by decreasing the rates of pesticide use and prolonging the efficacy of environmentally safe pesticides
There are billions of pounds of pesticides that are produced annually, despite the research showing how dangerous this overuse is. In fact, “recent research has documented the fact that certain pesticides use may actually increase pest problems” (Pojman, 2017, p. 800). This further demonstrates how pesticides are generally harmful rather than helpful. There are multiple organisms which pesticides affect, including poisoning humans, domestic animals, bees, while also causing a loss in crops, reducing populations of natural enemies, and growing pesticide resistance. Specifically, in the case of bee poisonings, the overall death of these bees results in the loss of 135 million dollars each year. There is also evidence that recently there have been more bee poisonings since 1962, since highly toxic insecticides are being used, while greater amounts of insecticides are being dispensed. Pesticides are also deployed through aircraft, allowing drifting problems. Additionally, insecticides are used by many populations other than farmers, including “golf-course managers, gardeners, and other landowners” to simply deal with their daily unwanted pests that will damage their flowers and crops (Williams, 2014, p. 33). If these insecticides are sprayed near a bee’s habitat or nest site, they will be harmed either immediately or subtly in regards to their behavior. Even worse, there are certain pesticides which treat seeds and thus allow it to be present in the plant’s tissue. This means that bees are being exposed to pesticides through pollen and nectar. In a study by Guseman, the goal was to discover which combinations of compounds were causing bees the most harm, so that a solution could be found. According to the study, bees are exposed to potentially dangerous pesticides in two distinct ways, through “in-hive miticides to control parasites and through the foraging activity of adult bees who collect pollen
Pesticides can contaminate soil, water, turf, and other vegetation. In addition to killing insects or weeds, pesticides can be toxic to a host of other organisms including birds, fish, beneficial insects, and non-target plants. Insecticides are generally the most acutely toxic class of pesticides, but herbicides can also pose risks to non-target organisms.
One of the benefits of using pesticides is to kill pesticides and worms that feed on the crops. Pesticides have been used in public health, forestry, agriculture, and domestic sphere. One of the main reasons why pesticides are used is to increase farm yields. Agricultural chemicals have contributed to the increased crop production. The second benefit of pesticides is the protection of crops from diseases. Weeds have been a great deal to farmers because they decrease crop productivity. In this situation, a farmer would choose to use herbicides to kill the weeds. Insecticides are used to kill vector based diseases. Malaria is one of the leading diseases that is caused by mosquitoes which can be killed using insecticides (Levine 277)
Pesticides are substances that are used for killing insects or other organisms that are harmful to plants or animals. The US Environmental Protection Agency reported that 1 billion tons of pesticides are used in the United States each year. 80% of these pesticides are used for growing crops. Even though pesticides are sprayed on fruits, vegetables, and plants they can make their way into water sources like rivers, oceans, or ponds. If the water gets contaminated and animals drink from it and die, a whole ecosystem could be thrown off. Pesticides also affect groundwater. This is called leaching. Many people rely on groundwater for drinking so the pesticides that make their way in the groundwater can be harmful to people and potentially
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
There are 2.5 billion pounds of pesticides being applied to agricultural products each year in the United States. This is ten times more than was applied forty years ago. It is still unknown as to what type of exact effects these chemicals may have on individuals. Some farmers that have been using pesticides in their fields and developed leukemia are finding that the cause of their disease is from inhaling pesticides. These chemicals are still in use today and most of them have never been tested for the short or long-term effects that they may have on humans.
Instead of using pesticides in farming a better alternative would be biological control. This is when a natural predator is released into the crop growing area as a result the number of pests can be reduced.