What Are Pesticides?

Over 400 pesticide ingrediants are approved for use in the UK and there are over 3000 brands available on the market. 72% of pesticides are used in farming. Without pesticides 30% of world food crops would be lost before harvest. Pesticides protect food while it is stored and transported. They reduce crop loss from disease and pest attack and control human pests and disease carriers, they helped eradicate the malarial mosquito.
Different types of pesticides:

insecticides kill insects herbicides kill plants fungicides kill fungal diseases rodenticides kill rodents acaricides kill mites molluscicides kill snails and slugs nematocides kill worms avicides kill birds bactericides kill bacteria

Other pesticides include:

growth regulators	retard plant growth
defoliants	remove leaves
desiccants	dry out plants
fumigants	suffocate the pest
repellents/attractants	repel or attract insects
insect growth regulators (IGRs)	reduce insect growth
veterinary products	may include pesticides, e.g. sheep dip
commodity chemicals	a chemical substance used as a pesticde

There Are Three Main Groups Of Chemicals:

1. natural substances

(e.g. nicotine) does not mean the chemical is safe

2. inorganic substances

derivatives of arsenic, mercury and sulphur

3. synthetric compounds

include most of todays pesticides

Synthetic Pesticides:

organochlorines	DDT
organophosphates	Malathion
phenoxy acids	2,4-D
carbamates	Aldicarb
synthetic pyrethroids