Fertilizer and Pesticides
Pesticides
Pesticide is a chemical-based substance to repel, control, and kill animal life or plant life, known as pests. They include a range of biological agents such as disinfectants, antimicrobials, bacteria, and viruses to control agricultural pests that can damage crops and livestock. While pests can involve fungi, rodents, slugs, insects, weeds, snails, bird mites, etc.
Pesticides are the greatest innovation that saves farmers hard-earned productivity and efforts while cultivating. Moreover, they help protect crops and land from uninvited organisms or plants that leach all the nutrients of crops.
Pesticides help control pests that can cause plant-based diseases.
It avoids the inhibition of organisms that can cause human/livestock diseases.
It helps control organisms that can disrupt human activities and structures
Types of Pesticides
8 Different Types of Pesticides Used in Agriculture Commonly.
Herbicides - Herbicides prevent the growth of weeds that can leach the nutrients required by the crops for growing.
Insecticides - Insecticides attack the nervous system of insects to restrict their inhibition or breeding.
Fungicides - Fungicides help prevent fungi’s growth and help remove them completely. Also, they can easily decay in the soil in the presence of air.
Rodenticides - They are chemical substances used to control the inhabitation of rodents such as rats, mice, gophers, and even fish, birds, and mammals that can destroy crops.
Larvicides - Larvicides are pesticides that control or restrict larvae or mosquito growth or restart their breeding to prevent vector-borne diseases like malaria.
Molluscicides - Pesticides that typically restrict the inhabitation or spreading of molluscs such as snails, slugs and others.
Bactericides - Pesticides kill or restrict the spreading of harmful bacteria throughout crops and livestock.
Algaecides - These pesticides kill or restrict the growth of algae for better crop yield.
Fertilizers
Nitrogen, phosphate, and potash are essential in the production of crops used for food, feed, fiber, and fuel. Applied annually, most of these nutrients are absorbed by the crop, but when applied in excess, they can be lost to the environment through volatilization into the air, leaching into ground water, emission from soil to air, and runoff into surface water. These losses can be reduced by adopting best management practices (BMPs) that increase nutrient accessibility and enhance plants' ability to uptake the nutrients, and more closely match nutrient applications with agronomic needs.
