Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Sprayers range in size from man-portable units (typically backpacks with spray guns) to trailed sprayers that are connected to a tractor, to self-propelled units similar to tractors with boom mounts of 4–30 feet (1.2–9.1 m) up to 60–151 feet (18–46 m) in length depending on engineering design for tractor and land size. [1]
An obvious side effect of using a chemical meant to kill is that one is likely to kill more than just the desired organism. Contact with a sprayed plant or "weed" can have an effect upon local wildlife, most notably insects. A cause for concern is how pests, the reason for pesticide use, are building up a resistance.
A manual backpack-type sprayer Space treatment against mosquitoes using a thermal fogger Grubbs Vocational College students spraying Irish potatoes. Pesticide application is the practical way in which pesticides (including herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, or nematode control agents) are delivered to their biological targets (e.g. pest organism, crop or other plant).
Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, because they are sprayed or spread across entire agricultural fields. [1] Other agrochemicals, such as fertilizers, can also have negative effects on the environment. The negative effects of pesticides are not just in the area of application.
These tests evaluate: whether the pesticide has the potential to cause adverse effects (including cancer and reproductive system disorders) on humans, wildlife, fish, and plants, including endangered species and non-target organisms; and possible contamination of surface water or ground water from leaching, runoff, and spray drift. [4]
Agricultural spray adjuvants do not reduce the amount of pesticide needed below the recommended use rate on a pesticide label. In fact, it is illegal to use a pesticide in the US outside of the instructions on the label, although FIFRA , the US law governing pesticide use, does allow for the use of pesticides at rates below the label, as long ...
Virtually no reports of resistance have been filed. A more recent type of IGR is the ecdysone agonist tebufenozide (MIMIC), which is used in forestry and other applications for control of caterpillars, which are far more sensitive to its hormonal effects than other insect orders.
Pesticide Residues in Food – Data and Summary reports from the USDA on pesticide residues in food sold in the United States. Pesticides: Use, Effects, and Alternatives to Pesticides in Schools (pdf) from the United States General Accounting Office; Croplifeamerica.org, – US trade association representing the crop protection and pest control ...