Definitions of Pesticides:
“Any chemical that are used to repel or kill a pest organism.”
“A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling,
or mitigating any pest.”
Pest:
“A pest is any harmful, destructive, or troublesome animal, plant or microorganism.”
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
“Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any
insects, rodents,
nematodes, fungi, or weeds or any other form of life is declared to be pesticides. …
“Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant
or desiccant.”
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA – 1947)
Methods of Pest Control:
1. Natural Control
2. Artificial Control
i) Mechanical Control
ii) Agricultural Control
iii) Chemical Control
iv) Biological Control
1. Natural controls
Parasitic pests, predators and diseases caused by pests are usually the most important factors in natural
methods of control.
Influence of changes in season, topology , changing temperatures, rainfall, soil, atmospheric humidity and
other natural factors also show their effect on insects and their hosts.
2. Artificial controls
I. Mechanical control:
It employs manual labor as well as mechanical devices for collection or destruction of pests.
Techniques such as handpicking, pruning, trapping and burning are employed for the destruction of
larvae, eggs, pupae and insects.
II. Agricultural control
It is the oldest method.
Deep ploughing for the eradication of weeds and early stages of insects.
Alternate crop rotation or changing environmental conditions.
Nowadays advanced plant breeding techniques such as hybridization, mutation, polyploidy and
biotechnological manipulations are greatly used for production of pest resistant species.
III. Chemical methods
Chemical agents are the major pesticide agents used for the control of pests throughout the world.
Insect repellants, attractants, fumigants such as insecticides, parasiticides used for killing mites, ticks, and
sterilizing agents which employ radioisotopes or chemicals to interfere with reproductive capabilities are
used widely nowadays.
The new groups of compounds called insect growth regulator (IGR) pesticides or biological insecticides
consist of natural chemicals present in the insects that control their development.
e.g. Methoprene prevents the pupate stage which develop the reproductive adults.
Biopesticides of this type are very specific for their toxicity and safety.
IV. Biological Methods
It is a natural approach in which predators, parasites, weed feeding invertebrates and living organisms are
used for controlling pests or their biological activities.
All these are referred to as biorational pesticides.
Microorganisms are used to kill by causing fatal disease in insects.
e.g. Bacillus thuringiensis kill larvae of butterflies and moths
B. papillae kills the grubs of Japanese beetles
B. thuringiensis Var. israelensis – mosquito larvae
Advantage:
Safer for most of the non-targeted organisms and also humans and pets.
Classification of Pesticides:
I. Insecticides
II. Herbicides
III. Fungicides
IV. Rodenticide
I. Insecticides:
Used to protect the crops from insect damage.
In urban localities , public health officials use these chemicals to fight mosquitoes and other
insects.
Insecticides are widely utilized in homes and outdoors to control such pests as ants, moths,
cockroaches and termites.
II. Herbicides:
Control weeds or eliminate plants that grow where they are not wanted.
Herbicide is used to reduce weed among crops.
Herbicides are also used to control weeds in such public and recreational areas such as parks,
lakes and ponds.
It is also used as a garden pesticide or in yards to get rid of crab grass and dandelions.
III. Fungicides:
Many of fungi are pathogenic and many infect both plants and animals including human beings.
Fungicides are used to control fungal diseases of plants and food crops.
Most disinfectants are used in homes, hospitals and restaurants contain fungicides.
IV. Rodenticide:
Rodenticides are used especially in urban areas where rats and other rodents are a major health
problem.
Rats carry many of the pathogenic bacteria that cause disease such as rabies, rat-bite fever,
tularemia and typhus fever.
Rats also destroy large amounts of food and grain and rodenticides help protect areas where
these products are stored.
Other Pesticides:
CLASS PROTECTION FROM
Acaricide Controls ticks and mites
Algicides Algae and other aquatic vegetation
Antiseptics Microorganisms
Arbericides Defoliates and destroys trees and shrubs
Bactericides Bacterial infection
Molluscicides Control mollusks including gastropods
Nematicides Namatodes
Pesticides form natural origin
Class Sources Pest
Insecticides
Pyrethroids Pyrenthrum cinerariaefolium Insects
Rotenoids Derris elliptica Lice, fleas and larvae
Nicotinoids Nicotiana tobaccum Soft bodies insects
Veratrine Schoenocaulon officinale Insects
Ryanodine Ryania speciosa Lepidopterous larvae
Neem products Azadirachta indica Larvae
Rodenticides
Scillirocides Urgenea maritima Rats, mice
Strychnine Strychnos nux-vomica Rats, mice
Fungicides
Neem products Azadirachta indica Tinea, Trychophyton
Saponins Tetrapleura tetraptera Mollusc, fish
Swartizia saponin Swartzia madagascariensis Mollusc, fish
Bidesmodic saponin Phytolacca dodendra Fresh water, snails
Antifedants
Neem products Azadiracta indica Grain insects
Attractants
Masculare Musca domestica Common flus
Bollweevil sex - Boll weevil
attractants
Repellants
Citronellal Cymbopogan specis Insects
Neem products Azadiracta indica Insects
Pesticide synergist
Piperonyl butoxide Brazilian sasafras Pesticide additive
Essentials of a good pesticide
1. Should have a high margin of safety for plants and animals
causing very little or no damage to the foliage or live stocks
respectively.
2. should be safer.
3. should be easily easier to handle and ease for application
4. should not show toxicity in case of warm blooded animals
5. should not have flammable or explosive character.
6. should have safety and palatability of the food products exposed
to insecticides and should not show the residual effect of
pesticides.
7. Should be available easily at affordable cost.
Commonly used botanicals are:
1. Pyrethrum
2. Neem
3. Derris root
4. Lonchocarpus roots
5. Tobacco
6. Garlic
7. cevadilla
8. Red squill
9. Ryania
10. Chillipepper
11. Marigold
12. nuxvomica
13. citronella oil
