Pesticides are chemical compositions applied to kill, harm or eradicate all kinds of pests. These chemical substances divide into different types and are known as one of the most detrimental compositions in agricultural life. In this article, we are to explain all about different types of pesticides; therefore, if you are eager to know the role and effect of pesticides on farming life, read this article to the end.
What are pesticides?
As pests are one of the most fundamental factors which have inevitable effects on farms and agricultural life, individuals have discovered different ways to eradicate insects. Pesticides are one of the critical solutions to destroy pests and meet the devastating problem of endangering crops and farm life. Indeed, herbicides are one of the most popular pesticides, and approximately 80% of people show interest in applying this kind of pesticide rather than others.
Types of pesticides
As mentioned above, pesticides are divided into various kinds, the most significant of which include the following:
Herbicides
This sort of pesticide is used to inhibit the growth of weeds and is also known as a weed killer. Herbicide application commonly occurs in raw crop farming. Once farmers grow crops, they may face some unwanted plants named weeds. Herbicides help the fertility of crops by destroying these weeds.
Insecticides
The insecticide is a toxic substance that eliminates pests by attacking their nervous system and causes the insects to mitigate. As the interest in organic products has grown, farmers’ demand to use insecticides has dramatically risen.
Fungicides
This pesticide is used exclusively to remove fungi and prevent their growth. This chemical compound interferes with fungal energy production by damaging their cells.
Rodenticides
Rodenticides are a kind of mixed compound to kill mice and rats and are also named rat poisons. However, rats are a part of wildlife; controlling them demands a great deal of consideration, and occasionally using pesticides is needed to diminish them.
Bactericide
Bactericide is a chemical agent used to kill bacteria and prevent bacteria formation. It is good to know that; bactericide is used for animals and plants. Since bacterial infection can invade plants, pesticides are recommended in gardens and farming lands.
Larvicide
Larvicide is a sort of insecticide applied to kill mosquitoes before they grow into adults. Larvicide is provided in different forms, including liquid, tablet, and pellets.
Among all the above described, herbicides possess the leading marketing demand. The unwanted loss of crops due to insects has been on the rise in recent years; accordingly, farmers are trying to find a way to remove all kinds of pests.
Read More: Natural pest control methods
Classification of pesticides
Pesticides divide into two groups biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Biodegradable pesticides break down into harmless components with time, while pesticides resistant or non-biodegradable pesticides have the most resistant materials that take roughly 15 years to break down.
Classification of the pesticides depending on the pests they kill goes as follows:
- Insecticide for insects
- Herbicide for plants
- Fungicide for fungus
- Larvicide for larvae
- Rodenticide for rodents
- Bactericide for bacteria
Other methods to get rid of pests
As pesticides include toxic material, they are harmful to people, and they have unavoidable side effects as a result. In other words, pesticides may damage every living creature, including animals and humans. there are many alternative methods to get rid of pests and their devastating effects on the environment and humans. The most common ways to remove are as follows:
Crop rotation
Crop rotation is one of the methods that reduce the range of pests by growing different types of crops in the same area.
Crop diversity
One of the other ways to protect crops is to increase the species of vegetables, fruit, and plants; so that, the chance of every crop getting damaged drops.
Intercropping
The cavitation of multiple crops on the same field is called intercropping. Once different kinds of crops are cultivated, the possibility of the absorbing pest declines.
Employing organic pesticides
One of the prime reasons to use organic pesticides is to boost the quality of products and reduce their adverse effects on the human body.
Side effects of pesticides
Since pesticides are made of toxic chemicals, they can threaten crops, wildlife, human life, and the environment. The most prevalent adverse effect of pesticides on human includes headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, loss of appetite and skin irritation.
Regarding the environment, it is needless to mention that pesticide application can result in water and soil contamination.
Although using different pesticides is given a great deal of attention these days, it is not recommended by the specialist due to its numerous drawbacks.
Last Word
Considering all these points, understanding various types of pesticides and selecting the best way to eliminate them requires a great deal of information. Since a rising number of farmers are trying to use advanced agricultural technology, we did our best to provide you with comprehensive information regarding different types of pesticides and give you solutions to tackle the problem of applying harmful pesticides.
Frequently asked questions about pesticides
Using modern technology is one of the most efficient alternatives to get rid of all sorts of pests for good. Since people have lost interest in using old methods of reducing the number of pests in 2021, they prefer to use sensors, robots and connectivity.
The answer to this question is yes. Nowadays, using robots to kill pesticides has gained widespread popularity. Insect Hunter is one the most famous robots, which is an eco-friendly insect hunter which can lead to pest elimination by attracting and trapping insects.
Insect Hunter is a robot designed to trap and kill all kinds of insects in the area. Not only Insect Hunter robot is cost-effective, but it is an alternative way that contributes to organic and high-quality crops without using a drop of chemicals. Furthermore, it repels small animals like rabbits and foxes by using high-frequency sound waves.
The most obvious pros of pesticides are killing pests and avoiding them devastating crops and products on farming lands. One of the other good points is that killing pests can prevent insects from spreading life-threatening diseases.
People use pesticides to get rid of pests in their homes and gardens. Regardless of its positive effect on pest management at home, using pesticides has many bad points, including harming children, who are more vulnerable than adults.
As researches indicate, pesticides have many harmful effects on the environment as well. Protecting natural resources is an art of human beings, and pesticides harm the quality of water, soil and air, so people have no other way but to discover innovative methods to eradicate pests.
Like any other method, smart farming can have some challenges too. The leading challenges of technology-based farming feature mobility, connectivity, and data security.
Robots and other automation technologies are thought to improve the quality of crops and other products; hence farmers more and more tend to employ robots to eliminate pesticides.
