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...
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...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
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.
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.
The book starts with a foreword that highlights the motivation for having written the book. The book has a table of contents organized into seventeen chapters that highlight the different effect of the use of pesticides to the ecological system within the earth surface. The book is chronologically organized into chapters that flow and express a single idea for the writer. This organization has given the book much readability regarding the flow in its content and format to a
Pesticides that are used in conventional products may still be able to be tolerated by humans in low concentrations. There is a saying in Chinese, little bit long into the hills. Even though humans can still tolerate pesticides in low concentrations, in the long term, it will lead to deadly consequences. These pesticides not only affect humans but also the environment where they pulverize as well as the animals in their surroundings. As researchers say, organic food is more nutritious than conventional food and it probably helps to lengthen people's lives and prevent disease.
...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.
With the world having so many people on it we use a lot of pesticides and fertilizers. If it was not for the help of these we would not have gotten to the place we are now. Pesticides and fertilizers do a lot more than just help grow and safe from pests. “Nearly 50% of the world labor is employed in agriculture and they significant risk”
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.
Agriculture is the most fundamental resource of society. Without it, humans could not live, especially in the ways we do now where people reside in cities. This means that those cities could not exist without large scale agriculture to sustain them. Since agriculture is such a necessity, people have developed methods to gain more from their land. One of the many solutions besides machinery they have developed to produce higher crop yields is through the use of pesticides. However, those pesticides which have resulted in high crop yields have come at price, and that is human health itself. This seems rather contradictory. Pesticides were designed to help people and society by increased the success of producing high crop yields, and they still do that, but at the same time, those same pesticides have caused unforeseen health risks, primarily to those have had to handle them. The average person would not consider pesticides as being a cause for depression, or in worst case scenario, suicide, but studies have found significant links. Even though California is just one place in the world, it has large agricultural areas which were, and still are, represented in many scientific studies that have found those unforeseen risks from pesticide use. Since pesticides are poisons, producers and safety activities urge several safety precautions to attempt to reduce the effect on human users. However, these precautions sometimes do not prevent long term damages in the people that live and work in such close proximity, which are the agricultural workers. Since the risk are known, policies have been put into place, but despite that, the use of pesticides remains high. Like many of the anthropological readings from this course, there are also added ...
I believe that people not use pesticides on crops anymore. Many farmers believe that they must continue with the use of pesticides on crops. The purpose of this is because many honey bees have been disappearing. Honey bees help make more crops or make them bloom, if not the world supply would be in danger. Farmers should only use chemicals when they need to, not when crops are booming. We can save honey bees and our food supply if you are on my side.
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
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.
Household chemicals were created for a reason, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be harmful to your health. For instance, pesticides used on household lawns are now proven to cause neurological disorders. These include depression, mania, learning disorders, A.D.H.D, immune system defects and memory problems. Not proven yet, but the same chemicals play a big part in leading research for the c...
...ates have more than fourteen distinct Federal Acts control the manufacture, registration, distribution, use, consumption and disposal of pesticides, EPA or other department cannot remove all of pesticides residues from our food, air and water. Therefore, Consumers cannot risk their own life to allow farmers and manufacturers do whatever they want to. The best way to have massive reduction for using pesticide is collecting taxes from farmers and manufacturers that overuse and mixing multiple chemicals. “The direct cost of applying a pesticide is only a small fraction of the actual cost. What remains unaccounted for are human illnesses due to pesticide exposures”(disrupting). Because farmers and manufactures react to tax incentives, pesticide will have a significant decline of use and produce pesticide.