Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others. The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all pesticide use globally. Most pesticides are used as plant protection products, which in general protect plants from weeds, fungi, or insects. In general, a pesticide is a chemical or biological agent that deters, incapacitates, kills, or otherwise discourages pests. Target pests can include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, molluscs, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms), and microbes that destroy property, cause nuisance, or spread disease, or are disease vectors. Along with these benefits, pesticides also have drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other species.
Bromomethane, commonly known as methyl bromide, is an organobromine compound with formula CH3Br. This colorless, odorless, nonflammable gas is produced both industrially and biologically. It has a tetrahedral shape and it is a recognized ozone-depleting chemical. It was used extensively as a pesticide until being phased out by most countries in the early 2000s.
Chlordane, or chlordan, is an organochlorine compound that was used as a pesticide. It is a white solid. In the United States, chlordane was used for termite-treatment of approximately 30 million homes until it was banned in 1988. Chlordane was banned 10 years earlier for food crops like corn and citrus, and on lawns and domestic gardens.
Dicofol is an insecticide, an organochlorine that is chemically related to DDT. Dicofol is a miticide that is very effective against spider mite. Its production and use is banned internationally under the Stockholm Convention.
Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an organochlorine compound used as a pesticide and a disinfectant. First produced in the 1930s, it is marketed under many trade names. It can be found as pure PCP, or as the sodium salt of PCP, the latter of which dissolves easily in water. It can be biodegraded by some bacteria, including Sphingobium chlorophenolicum.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. They are toxic chemicals that adversely affect human health and the environment around the world. Because they can be transported by wind and water, most POPs generated in one country can and do affect people and wildlife far from where they are used and released.
Vinclozolin is a common dicarboximide fungicide used to control diseases, such as blights, rots and molds in vineyards, and on fruits and vegetables such as raspberries, lettuce, kiwi, snap beans, and onions. It is also used on turf on golf courses. Two common fungi that vinclozolin is used to protect crops against are Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. First registered in 1981, vinclozolin is widely used but its overall application has declined. As a pesticide, vinclozolin is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to these restrictions within the United States, as of 2006 the use of this pesticide was banned in several countries, including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It has gone through a series of tests and regulations in order to evaluate the risks and hazards to the environment and animals. Among the research, a main finding is that vinclozolin has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor with antiandrogenic effects.
Toxaphene was an insecticide used primarily for cotton in the southern United States during the late 1960s and the 1970s. Toxaphene is a mixture of over 670 different chemicals and is produced by reacting chlorine gas with camphene. It can be most commonly found as a yellow to amber waxy solid.
Chlorothalonil (2,4,5,6-tetrachloroisophthalonitrile) is an organic compound mainly used as a broad spectrum, nonsystemic fungicide, with other uses as a wood protectant, pesticide, acaricide, and to control mold, mildew, bacteria, algae. Chlorothalonil-containing products are sold under the names Bravo, Echo, and Daconil. It was first registered for use in the US in 1966. In 1997, the most recent year for which data are available, it was the third most used fungicide in the US, behind only sulfur and copper, with 12 million pounds used in agriculture that year. Including nonagricultural uses, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates, on average, almost 15 million lb (6.8 million kg) were used annually from 1990 to 1996.
Algaecide or algicide is a biocide used for killing and preventing the growth of algae, often defined in a loose sense that, beyond the biological definition, also includes cyanobacteria. An algaecide may be used for controlled bodies of water, but may also be used on land for locations such as turfgrass.
Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical substance. The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct contact with the contaminated soil, vapour from the contaminants, or from secondary contamination of water supplies within and underlying the soil. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting clean ups are time-consuming and expensive tasks, and require expertise in geology, hydrology, chemistry, computer modelling, and GIS in Environmental Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of industrial chemistry.
Methoxychlor is a synthetic organochloride insecticide, now obsolete. Tradenames for methoxychlor include Chemform, Maralate, Methoxo, Methoxcide, Metox, and Moxie.
Dicamba is a selective systemic herbicide first registered in 1967. Brand names for formulations of this herbicide include Dianat, Banvel, Diablo, Oracle and Vanquish. This chemical compound is a chlorinated derivative of o-anisic acid.
Acephate is an organophosphate foliar and soil insecticide of moderate persistence with residual systemic activity of about 10–15 days at the recommended use rate. It is used primarily for control of aphids, including resistant species, in vegetables and in horticulture. It also controls leaf miners, caterpillars, sawflies, thrips, and spider mites in the previously stated crops as well as turf, and forestry. By direct application to mounds, it is effective in destroying imported fire ants.
Bensulide is a selective organophosphate herbicide. It is one of a few organophosphate compounds that are used as an herbicide. Most of the others are used as insecticides. It is used on vegetable crops such as carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and melons and in cotton and turfgrass to control annual grasses such as bluegrass and crabgrass and broadleaf weeds. It is often applied before the weed seeds germinate (pre-emergence) in order to prevent them from germinating. It is available as granules or an emulsifiable concentrate. Estimates place the total use of bensulide in the United States at about 632,000 pounds annually. Application rates may be relatively heavy when it is used. The EPA classifies bensulide as a general use pesticide.
Etofenprox is a pyrethroid derivative which is used as an insecticide. Mitsui Chemicals Agro Inc. is the main manufacturer of the chemical. It is also used as an ingredient in flea medication for cats and dogs.
Enilconazole is a fungicide widely used in agriculture, particularly in the growing of citrus fruits. Trade names include Freshgard, Fungaflor, and Nuzone.
Acetamiprid is an organic compound with the chemical formula C10H11ClN4. It is an odorless neonicotinoid insecticide produced under the trade names Assail, and Chipco by Aventis CropSciences. It is systemic and intended to control sucking insects (Thysanoptera, Hemiptera, mainly aphids) on crops such as leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, pome fruits, grapes, cotton, cole crops, and ornamental plants. It is also a key pesticide in commercial cherry farming due to its effectiveness against the larvae of the cherry fruit fly.
Pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) is a chlorobenzene compound with the molecular formula C6HCl5 which is a chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbon. It consists of a benzene ring substituted with five chlorine atoms. PeCB was once used industrially for a variety of uses, but because of environmental concerns there are currently no large scale uses of PeCB. Pentachlorobenzene is a known persistent organic pollutant (POP) and banned globally by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2009.
Cyproconazole is an agricultural fungicide of the class of azoles, used on cereal crops, coffee, sugar beet, fruit trees and grapes, on sod farms and golf courses and on wood as a preservative. It was introduced to the market by then Sandoz in 1994.
