Pesticides Essay Research Paper PesticidesSome 10000 species

Pesticides Essay, Research Paper

Pesticides

Some 10,000 species of the more than 1 million species of insects are crop-eating, and of these, approximately 700 species worldwide cause most of the insect damage to crops, in the field and in storage. Humans have been on earth for more than 3 million years, while insects have existed for at least 250 million years. The first materials likely used by our primitive ancestors to reduce insect annoyance were mud and dust spread over their skin to repel biting and tickling insects, a practice resembling the habits of elephants, swine, and water buffalo. Under these circumstances, mud and dust would be classed as repellents, a category of insecticides.Historians have traced the use of pesticides to the time of Homer around 1000 B.C., but the earliest records of insecticides pertain to the burning of sulfur as a fumigant. Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) recorded most of the earlier insecticide uses in his Natural History. Included among these were the use of gall from a green lizard to protect apples from worms and rot. Later, we find a variety of materials used with questionable results: extracts of pepper and tobacco, soapy water, whitewash, vinegar, turpentine, fish oil, brine, lye and many others.(Ware) There are specific control techniques that include chemical, physical, and biological mechanisms. Pests destroy about thirty-five percent of all crops worldwide. Even after harvesting the food, insects, microorganisms, rodents, and birds destroy another ten to twenty percent of the crops. Overall pests destroy forty to fifty percent of all crops. This causes may food shortages, so researchers are trying to find the best pest control to reduce food loss.

Pesticides contain herbicides(for weed control), insecticides, and fungicides. Over half of the pesticides used in the United States are herbicides that control weeds, and a small percentage of land in the UNited States are treated with pesticides. There is twenty-four percent, nine percent with insecticides, and one percent fingicides. The amount of pesticides that agriculturists use depend on what they are growing. Agriculturers in the United States, sixty-sven percent of them to be exact, use pesticicdes are applied to two crops, cotton and corn. about seventy percent of herbicides are applied to corn and soybeans, and most of the fungicides are applied to fruit and vegetable crops.

Some pesticides contain resmethrin, like Crossfire, Derringer, Raid, and Sun-Bugger(other brands use this too). Resmethrin is slightly toxic to practically non-toxic compound in EPA toxicity class III. The prodicts that contain resmithrin must have a word of caution on the label. This product is also letheal to fish. Resmithrin’s chemical class is pyrethroid and is used for control of flying and crawling insects, and mosiquito control. It’s also used for fabric control, pet sprays, and shampoo. It’s also applied to horses or horse stables. Resmithrin contains two main isomers; 20 to 30 percent of cis-isomer and 70 to 80 percent of trans-isomer.

Another popular pesticide is diaziron. Many brands like Basudin, Dazzel, and garden-tox use this. This too is a restricted pesticide, and only certified pest control operators can use it. In 1988, EPA canceled regristration od diazinon for use on golf courses and sod farms because many birds were dying. It is classified as toxicity class II- moderatley toxic. Products with diazinon must have WARNING or CAUTION labled somewhere on the bottle. Diazon’s chemical class is organophosphate. It’s used to control cockroaches, silverfish, ants, and fleas in residential, non food buildings. It’s also used on rice, fruit trees, sugar cone, tobacco, corn, and on norticultural plants. Its alos an ingredient in pest strips. Diazinon has a vettrenary use for fleas and ticks, and is available on granules, dust, wettable powder, seed dressings, and emulsifable solution formulations.

Many brands like Celthion, Cythion, Dielathion, and Emmaton use an ingredient called malathion. It is slightly toxic, therefore, making it class III, according to the EPA. This product must also say CAUTION or WARNING on it. Malathion is a general use pesticide and is available in emulsifable concentrate, wettable powder, dustable powder, and low form liquid forms. Like diazinon, its chemical class is organophosphate and is a widely used insecticide. It was one of the first organophosphate insecticides developed in 1950.The organochlorines are insecticides that contain carbon , hydrogen, and chlorine. They are also known by other names: chlorinated hydrocarbons, chlorinated organics, chlorinated insecticides, and chlorinated synthetics. Malathion is used for the control of mosquitoes, flies, house insects, anamil parasites like fleas and ticks, and head and body lice. It might also be found in formulations with many other pesticides.

Hexchlorocyclohexane (HCH)–the insecticidal properties of HCH were discovered in 1940 by French and British entomologists. In its technical grade, there are five isomers, alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon. Surprisingly, only the gamma isomer has insecticidal properties. Consequently, the gamma isomer was isolated in manufacture and sold as the odorless insecticide lindane. In contrast, technical grade HCH has a strong musty odor and flavor, which can be imparted to treated crops and animal products. Because of its very l