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The word pesticide derives from the Latin pestis (plague) and caedere (kill). [5]The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has defined pesticide as: . any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals, causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the ...
The Passaic Agricultural Chemical Works in Newark, New Jersey, 1876. An agrochemical or agrichemical, a contraction of agricultural chemical, is a chemical product used in industrial agriculture. Agrichemical typically refers to biocides (pesticides including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and nematicides) alongside synthetic fertilizers.
The industry-sponsored Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC) advises on the use of herbicides in crop protection and classifies the available compounds according to their chemical structures and mechanism of action so as to manage the risks of pesticide resistance developing. [4]
Alternatives to pesticides are available and include methods of cultivation, use of biological pest controls (such as pheromones and microbial pesticides), genetic engineering (mostly of crops), and methods of interfering with insect breeding. [12] Application of composted yard waste has also been used as a way of controlling pests. [13]
Nearly one-third of all the pesticides and fungicides that Paul Butler uses on his Cash-strapped US farmers switch to generic crop chemicals, in blow to big manufacturers Skip to main content
Monocrotophos is principally used in agriculture, as a relatively cheap pesticide. However, it is also used frequently as a tool to commit suicide. [2] It is used as a pesticide for cucumber. Monocrotophos is believed to be the contaminant responsible for the death of 23 schoolchildren in a Bihar, India school.
Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. [1] They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, industrial buildings, for vector control, and control of insect parasites of animals and humans.
The cost of pesticides and fungicides and such may not be the biggest part of a grower's budget, but in a low-margin industry like agriculture, every little bit can either help or hurt.