The word pesticide derives from the Latin pestis (plague) and caedere (kill).
The
any … See more

From biblical times until the 1950s the pesticides used were inorganic compounds and plant extracts. The inorganic compounds were derivatives of copper, arsenic, mercury, sulfur, among others, and the plant ex… See more

The aim is to find new compounds or agents with improved properties such as a new mode of action or lower application rate. Another aim is to replace older pesticides which have been banned for reasons of toxicity… See more

In addition to their main use in agriculture, pesticides have a number of other applications. Pesticides are used to control organisms that are considered to be harmful, or pernicious to their surroundings. For exampl… See more

Total pesticides use in agriculture in 2021 was 3.54 million tonnes of active ingredients (Mt), a 4 percent increase with respect to 2020, an 11 percent increase in a decade, and a doubling since 1990. Pesticides … See more

Pesticides increase agricultural yields and lower costs. One study found that not using pesticides reduced crop yields by about 10%. Another study, conducted in 1999, found that a ban on pesticides in the United States ma… See more