Speaker
Krishna Gupta
Ph.D. Scholar

Introduction
• Pesticides constitue an important component in agricultural
development and protection of public health in developing
countries.
• Pesticides enhanced economic potential in terms of
increased production of food and fiber, and amelioration of
vector-borne diseases.
• Pesticide use raises a number of environmental concerns,
including human and animal health hazards, pollution of air,
water and soil.

Pesticides
• Pesticide means any substance
intended for preventing,
destroying, attracting, repelling or
controlling any pest including
unwanted species of plants or
animals during production,
storage, transport, distribution and
processing of food, agricultural
commodities or animal feeds or
which may be administered to the
animals for the control of
ectoparasites.
(F AO, 1989).

Historical Perspective of Pesticides
• About 4000 years ago the first known
pesticide was elemental sulfur.
• In 15th century arsenic, mercury and lead
were being applied to crops for kill the
pests.
• In17th century nicotine sulfate was
extracted from tobacco leaves for use as an
insecticide.
• In 19th century introduction of two more
natural pesticides, pyrethrum and rotenone.
• In 1939, Paul Muller discovered that DDT
was a very effective insecticide.
15th century
17th century
19th century

Conti…
• Pesticide use in India dates back to the year 1948 when
DDT and BHC were imported for malaria and locust
control.
• In 1960 Rachel Carson wrote the best-selling book Silent
Spring about biological magnification.
• In 1960 triazine, 2,4-D and glyphosate herbicides were
introduced.
• In 1970 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was
established and amendments to the pesticide law in 1972
• In 1975 introduced organophosphates and carbamates
pesticides.

Production and usage of pesticides in India
• The production of pesticides started in India in 1952 with
the establishment of a plant for the production of BHC near
Calcutta, and India is now the second largest manufacturer
of pesticides in Asia after China and ranks twelfth globally
(Mathur, 1999).
• There has been a steady growth in the production of
technical grade pesticides in India, from 5,000 metric tons
in 1958 to 1,02,240 metric tons in 1998.
• In 1996–97 the demand for pesticides in terms of value was
estimated to be around Rs. 22 billion (USD 0.5 billion),
which is about 2% of the total world market.
Aktar et al., 2009

Types of Pesticides and there Target Organism
Types of pesticide Target organism/pest
Insecticides Insects
Fungicides Fungi
Bactericides Bacteria
Herbicides Weeds
Rodenticides Rodents
Acaricides Arachnids such as ticks and mites
Moluscicides Mollusks
Avicides Bird pests
Nematicides Nematodes
Algaecides Algae

Insecticides
• Definition: Insecticide may be defined as a substance or mixture
of substances intended to kill, repel or otherwise prevent the
insects.
• Insecticides disrupt the nervous system, whereas others may
damage their exoskeletons, repel them or control them by some
other means.
• They can also be packaged in various forms including sprays,
dusts, gels, and baits.
• Because of these factors, each insecticide can pose a
different level of risk to non-target insects, people, pets and
the environment.
Ex.-Organophosphates, Carbamate and different newer insecticide.

Fungicides
• Fungicides are pesticides that kill or prevent the growth of
fungi and their spores which damage plants, by causing
rusts, mildews and blights.
• They might also be used to control mold and mildew in
other settings.
• Fungicides work in a variety of ways, but most of them
damage fungal cell membranes or interfere with energy
production within fungal cells.
• Ex.- Plantomycin, Cyprodinil, Iprodione and Metconazole
etc.

Herbicides
• Herbicides kill unwanted plant, while leaving the desired
crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering
with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic mimics
of natural plant hormones.
• The most frequent application of herbicides occurs in row
crop farming, where they are applied before or during
planting to maximize crop productivity by minimizing other
vegetation (weed).
• Ex. Bromoxynil, Arylex, 2,4-D, triazine and glyphosate etc.

Rodenticide
• Rodenticides are pesticides that kill rodents,
including mice and rats.
• They are often formulated as baits with attractive substances
like peanut butter or molasses.
• Rodenticide baits can provide short-term control of rodent
infestations.
• People, pets, and wildlife are very similar to rodents, so
they can also be poisoned by rodenticides.
• Recent changes to rodenticide regulations limit the
availability of more toxic baits for home use.
• Ex.- Zinc phosphide, Warfarin, and Strychnine etc.

Product wise use of pesticides (FY17)

Use of pesticides in World and India for crops
Source: Vision 2050 (NRCWS Perspective plan 2017)

Globally pesticide consumption (Kg/ha) comparison
(2017)

Benefits
• The benefits of pesticides include increased food production
• Increased profits for farmers.
• Management of pest.
• Improve quality of food.
• Due to the use of pesticides, it is possible to combat pests and
produce larger quantities of food.
• Pesticides also increase farm profits by helping the farmer save
money on labor costs.
• In addition to saving crops and livestock, pesticides have also
had direct benefits to human health.
• It is estimated that since 1945, the use of pesticides has
prevented the deaths of around seven million people by killing
pests that carry or transmit diseases.
Catherine W. 2018

Risks
• The risk of a pesticide depends on two things,
exposure (how much?) and toxicity (how
poisonous?).
• The exposure is the amount you get in or on your
body, or the amount that is released into the
environment.
• The toxicity of a pesticide is measure of how
poisonous it is to people or the environment.

Risks of pesticides
• Effect on human
• Air pollution by pesticide
• Water pollution by pesticide
• Soil pollution by pesticide
• Pesticide effect on plants
• Pesticide effect on animals
• Resistance development
• Effect of pesticides on pollinators
• Effect of pesticides on non-targets organism
• Pesticide Biomagnifications

Effect on Human
• Annually there are dozens of million cases of pesticide
poisonings worldwide (Richter, 2002).
• Pesticide effects to human can be categorized as acute i.e
those with quick felt effects e.g. nausea or chronic i.e those
with long term felt effects such as the case of leukemia.
• These are the most common health effects:-
• Cancers
• Depressions/neurological deficits
• Diabetes
• Respiratory diseases
• Women specific disorders
• General health/multiples diseases

Pesticide effect on animals
• Pesticides can eliminate some
animals' essential food sources.
• Residues can travel up the food
chain.
• In birds DDT-induced egg shell
thinning has especially affected
European and North American
bird populations

Water pollution by pesticide
• There are four major routes
through which pesticides reach
the water
• Contaminate water when they
spraying. Ex. Rice cultivation
• It may percolate, or leach,
through the soil.
• It may be carried to the water
as runoff.
• Carried to water by eroding
soil.

Pesticide effect on plants
• Specially pentachlorophenol interfere with legume
rhizobium chemical.
• Reduction of this symbiotic chemical results in reduced
nitrogen fixation.

Soil pollution by pesticide
• The use of pesticides decreases the general
biodiversity in the soil.
• Also affect to the soil micro-organisms & decrease
the soil fertility.
• Effect on growth of the plants.

Air pollution by pesticide
• Pesticides can speared by volatilize and may be
blown by winds into nearby areas.
• Following factors affect to the spreading of pesticide
in the air
• Weather conditions at the time of application
• Temperature
• Relative humidity

Resistance development
• When pesticide use long period
of time, some pest become
resistance to the pesticide.
• Because of resistance
development pest can not be
control.
• Farmer have to increase the
concentration or change the
pesticide it make more & more
environmental effects

Effect of pesticides on pollinators
• Application of Neonicotinoid
insecticides such as Imidacloprids
leads to the harmful effects on
pollinators.
• They include bees (honey, bumble),
fruit flies, beetles, birds (humming
birds, sunbirds).
• Pesticides application affect various
activities of pollinators such as:
• Foraging behavior
• Colony mortality
• Pollen collecting efficiency

Effect of pesticides on non-targets organism
• Cypermethrin and Imidacloprids cause high mortality rate
of the below mentioned predators than when bio-pesticides
are used such as neem.
• These include coccinellids, braconid wasps and predatory
spiders.
• Pesticides affect both invertebrates (earthworms) and
vertebrates (humans).

Pesticide Biomagnifications
• The higher up the food chain more
concentrate the pesticide called
biomagnifications.
• All individuals are part of food
chain as a result, toxins stored in the
fats & oils pass one trophic level to
next trophic level.
• This is danger expose to human
because they are also in top of the
food chains.

Diagram showing the main impacts of pesticides on soil, plant and
arthropod communities. Red arrows indicate decreases and blue arrows
indicate increases; empty arrows indicate indirect effects.
Source:- Centre for Ecotoxicology, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Safety for using pesticides
1. Reading Pesticide Labels
2. Understanding Pesticide Risks
3. Minimizing Pesticide Risks
4. Reducing pesticide risks at work (and at home)
5. Selecting Pesticides
6. Disposal of Pesticides
7. Storage of Pesticides
8. Poison Prevention
9. Safety during transportation
Source: National Pesticides Information Center

1. Reading Pesticide Labels
• Pesticide labels contain detailed
information on how to use the product
correctly and legally.
• Labels also contain information on
potential hazards associated with the
product and instructions you should
follow in the event of a poisoning or
spill.
• Following label instructions will
allow you to minimize the risks and
maximize the benefits

2. Understanding Pesticide Risks
• Many people believe that some pesticides are safe,
while others are dangerous.
• Actually, the words “safe” and "dangerous" are
misleading. Any chemical, including any pesticide,
can pose risks to people, pets, or the environment.
• Understanding pesticide risk will help you
take steps to minimize it

3. Minimizing Pesticide Risks
• Consider adopting an Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) approach.
• This approach emphasizes prevention, sanitation and
exclusion, and utilizes pesticides only as a last resort when
other options have failed.
• Consider using the least toxic methods of pest control to get
the job done.
• Integrated Pest Management options can be less costly
and more effective than traditional chemical control.
4. Reducing pesticide risks at work (and at home)

5. Selecting Pesticides
• Learn about the pest. Has it been properly identified by a
professional or an expert?
• To reduce risk, choose pesticide products with low
toxicity by looking for the "signal word" CAUTION.

6. Disposal of Pesticides
• Pesticides need to be disposed of properly to
prevent accidents and to protect
the environment.
• If you have unwanted pesticide products, store
them safely and dispose of them as soon as
you can.

7. Storage of Pesticides
• Proper pesticide storage is important to protect
people, animals, and the pesticide itself.
• Pesticides should be stored in their original containers. The
original container is designed to protect the product and it's
made of materials that will withstand the chemicals in the
product.
• Store containers with their original labeling which includes
application and disposal directions, ingredient names
and emergency information.
• Pesticides are best stored between 40-90 °F. (4- 32°C).

8. Poison Prevention
• Store pesticides in locked cabinets, out of the reach of
children and pets.
• Consider safe use practices so that you are prepared in the
event that an accident occurs.
9. Safety during transportation
• If a pesticide spill occurs during transport, follow the three
Cs control, contain and clean up.
• Do not transport food, livestock feed, minerals, seed, grain,
and consumer goods with pesticides

Conclusion
• The widespread use of pesticides is ineffective and
economically harmful in the long run.
• Their detrimental effect on health and environment
make them an inadequate long term solution.
• In addition, most synthetic and natural pesticides are
susceptible to ineffectiveness due to resistant
buildup in insects.
• Thus the only viable solution for the future is IPM.
• The economics benefits and reduced social costs of
these systems present a logical answer to the pest
control problem.