Chemical Pesticides

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The Boring bit

L/0: To be able to define pests and pesticides To understand the features of an effective chemical pesticide To understand the advantages and disadvantages of Chemical Pesticides K.W:pests,pesticides,productivity,DDT,Biology Starter: What are pests?think about it or at least pretend to.

Pests
Pests are generally defined as organisms that compete with crops for food or space reducing productivity by reducing the energy available for growth so cropd less efficent at at converting energy

In terms of agricultural ecosystems pests such as weeds compete with crop plants for resources such as CO2, these then become limiting factors of photosyntheisis for crops. This results in a lower rate of photosynthesis and so reduced productivity. Fungal infections which damage the crops which then expend energy to fight against infection so less energy available for growth . Insect pests which eat and damage crops. Meaning biomass is lost from crops so less growth lower productivity.

Chemical Pesticides
Pests can be controlled in two ways, chemical pesticides or biological control we will examine the former. There are herbicides which kill weeds, Fungcicdes are used against fungalinfections and Insecticides which kill insects

A effective pesticide
Should be: Specific so that it is toxic only to the targeted organisms, and harmless against humans and other organisms Biodegrade so it will break down into harmless substances in soil after use. Although it has to be chemically stable for a long shelf life Cost effective as development costs of pesticides are high and also as new pesticides are only effective for a short period as pests can develop genetic resistance to them Not accumalate so it does not build up either in parts of target species or as it passes along the food chain

Disadvantages of Pesticides
In life nothing is perfect and this rule also applies to chemical pesticides, the use of which raises a range of issues Chemical Pesticides can directly affect(damage or kill) non pest species e.g butterflies. This can affect the food web and may also lead to the increase of other pests They may also have indirect effects on non pest species. For example eating a large amount of primary conusmers containing small proportions of the pesticide can be enough to poison a secondary consumer( An real life example of this will be examined later) Economic issues are also raised as mentioned chemical pesticides can be expensive sand unprofitable. In the sense that the money generated from extra productivity might not cover the monetary costs of the pesticides

DDT
Also known by nerds as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and is a synthtic insectide. Made first in 1874 its properties as a pesticide were discovered in 1939 and used in the second half of WWII to control typhus and malaria. As a insectiside it opens up sodium channels in neurons causing them to fire spontaneousley . This leads to spasms and eventual death. Although then concerns were raised over the pesticides effect on humans and animals highlighted and acknowledged due to the book in 1957 Silent Spring. Has a high ability to bio accumulate and is poisonous to a large variety of organisms. It is also famously a reproductive toxicant for certain birds species, and it is a major reason for the decline of the bald eagle, brown pelican peregrine falcon and osprey . It has been linked to diabeiteis and other health problems in humans DDT was phased out in

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Exam Questions
Fahmida have no idea on the exam question so plz feel free to put whatever you want

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