Description of practice
Chemical pest control uses pesticides to control pest populations. Pesticides can be sprayed or added as seed dressings. Application of pesticides may contaminate soil and water, and might have negative impacts on soil and aquatic life.
Examples of how to use chemical pest control | Further information (see Note below) |
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Systemic insecticidesSystemic insecticides are applied as a drench to the crop or as a granule to the soil. They are water soluble and become absorbed and distributed systemically throughout the whole plant. When insects feed on the plant, they ingest the insecticide. |
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Contact insecticidesContact insecticides are commonly sprayed onto the crop. They are designed to be toxic upon direct contact with insects and include inorganic insecticides (containing metals and sulfur), organic insecticides (synthetically produced) and natural insecticides (like pyrethrum and neem oil). |
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Insect growth regulatorsInsect growth regulators (such as Diflubenzuron which is used to control caterpillars and Hydroprene which is used to control cockroaches and moths) are used to control insect populations. IGRs makes use of insect hormones to inhibit their growth. |
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RodenticidesRodenticides are used to reduce rodent populations by poisoning them via ingestion, either being lethal after one exposure or multiple exposures. Rodents are sometimes very harmful for agriculture. |
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Botanical pesticidesTree rosin, oleoresin (produced by conifer species) and neem oil are applied as botanic pesticides. These are some of the many organic compounds produced by plants to defend themselves from predation. |
»Food and Energy Security - da Silva Rodrigues‐Corrêa et al. |
Note: Most of the Further information links are to a full description of the example in the WOCAT database. However sometimes the link may be to similar practices or a research paper. Occasionally the link is to a commercial product in which case it should be understood that this does not imply any endorsement of the product by iSQAPER.