Advantages and disadvantages of pesticides in 5 - 5 points
Answers
Pesticides help farmers in preventing crop damage by these harmful insects. Although pesticides are important to farmers, using them can pose a risk to the farmer, his family and animals. However, when used properly pesticides may not have significant side effect on humans and animals. Nevertheless, it is important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of pesticide use before a farmer start using them.
One of the major advantages of pesticide use is that they kill pests faster than other pest control methods. This is because pesticides are specifically formulated chemicals that target certain pests. Once administered in a crop that has been invaded by the pest, pesticides start working immediately by affecting the normal biological functions of the organs of the insect.
Pesticides are also easy to use. With most pesticides, a farmer is just required to mix the pesticide with a specified amount of water and then spray the crop. There are powder pesticides that a farmer applies to the crop that is infested with pests directly. Thus, it takes a few minutes or hours to apply the pesticide and control the pest.
There is also a wide range of pesticides from which a farmer or gardener can choose from. This implies that a farmer can easily find the pesticide that they need to control a particular pest in their farm. Additionally, if a pest has developed resistance to a specific pesticide, a farmer can use another.
Nevertheless, there are also disadvantages of pesticide use as well. For instance, when a pesticide is overused in controlling a particular pest it can develop resistance. If the traits for the resistance are genetic-based, then the pesticide will no longer be effective in controlling that pest.
Some pesticides also kill beneficial insects. Insects such as bees which are agents of pollination can be killed by some pesticides. In addition, some pesticides have residual effects that can be passed on to humans who consume the crops on which they are applied. When used in the field, pesticides are carried by rain water and deposited in water bodies such as rivers and lakes where they interfere with aquatic life.
Answer:
Pesticides are chemical or biological substances that are used to prevent the growth of pests which are damaging the crops in an agriculture field, ornamnetal plants growing in a garden and food grains stored in a godown.The following are the advantages and disadvantages of pesticides:
Advantages
1. Control of pests: They help in reduction of pests feeding upon economically valuable crops.
2. Prevention of diseases:They prevent diseases in plants by killing pests.
3. Increasing yields: They are useful in increasing the productivity of crops.
4. Cost effective: Pesticides are cost effective, they are cheap and easily available.
5. Effective and rapid: The pesticides are toxic for living pests and the action of these pesticides is rapid and effective to maintain the population of pests.
Disdavantages
1. Loss of beneficial insect species: The action of pesticides not only kill the desired harmful pests but also kills beneficial pollinating insects. Therefore, interrupts in the life cycle of plants.
2. Poisioning hazards: Pesticides are harmful for all living species. The human applicant have been found symptoms of nausea, head ache, irritation, and severe poisoning ailments associated with the use of pesticide in the agricultural field.
3. Responsible pollutants: Pesticides are potentially harmful pollutants of air, soil and water.
4. Effects food chain: The pesticides being undigested in the pests body is being eaten up by another higher organism results in biomagnification. In which large population of organisms in the higher trophic levels are affected.
5. Effects the quality of food: The residues of pesticides are left over the food crops. The chemicals are added upon by these pesticides in the food causing health issues in humans and animals.