Pesticides

REPORTED BY: HULKER F. TOMBOC

 A pesticide is a substance or mixture of
substances intended for preventing, destroying,
repelling, or lessening the damage of any pest.

 The pest can be insects, plant pathogens,

weeds, mollusks, birds, mammals, fish,
nematodes (roundworms) and microbes that
compete with humans for food, destroy
property, spread or help carry or spread
diseases or are seen as a nuisance.
 The most common used pesticides include
insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and
rodenticides. The other less well-known pesticides
comprise growth regulators, plant defoliants,
surface disinfectants and some swimming pool
chemicals. Most commonly, pesticides are used in
health sector and agricultural crops.
 Naturally, pesticides are potentially toxic to other
non-target organisms, including humans. Hence,
it is necessary to use them safely and dispose
properly.
 TOXICOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF PESTICIDES

 These pesticides differ in their physical, chemical and

identical properties from one class to other. Therefore, it
is worthy to classify them based their properties and
study under their respective groups.

There were three popular methods of pesticides classes

comprises:
(i) classification based on the mode of entry
(ii) classification based on pesticide function and the pest
organism they kill
(iii) Classification based on the chemical composition of
the pesticide
Classification Based on Mode of Entry

The ways pesticides come in contact with or

enter the target are called modes of entry. These
include systemic, contact, stomach poisons,
fumigants, and repellents.
 Systemic pesticides
 Systemic pesticides are pesticides which are
absorbed by plants or animals and transfer to
untreated tissues.
 Some systemic insecticides are also applied
and move through animals to control pests
such as warble grubs, lice, or fleas
 Examples of systemic pesticides include 2, 4-
Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) and
glyphosate
 Non-systemic (Contact) pesticides

 The non-systemic pesticides are also called

contact pesticides as it acts on target pests
when they come in contact. Pesticides must
come into physical contact with the pest to be
effective. The pesticide enters the body of pests
via their epidermis upon contact and causes
death by poisoning
 Examples of contact pesticides are paraquat
and diquat dibromide
 Stomach poisoning and stomach toxicants

 Stomach poisoning pesticide enters the pest’s

body through their mouth and digestive system
and causes death by poisoning.
 Fumigants

 Fumigants are such pesticides which acts or may

kill the target pests by producing vapor. These
pesticides form poisonous gases when applied.
 These pesticides in vapor form enter the body of
pests via their tracheal system (respiratory)
through spiracles and causes death by
poisoning.
 Repellent
 Repellents do not kill but are distasteful enough
to keep pests away from treated
areas/commodities. They also interfere with
pest’s ability to locate crop
 Classification Based on Pesticide Function and
Pest Organism They Kill

 Under this method, pesticides are classified

based on target pest’s organism and pesticides
are given specific names to reflect their activity.
The group names of these pesticides arise from
the Latin word cide (meaning kill or killer) that
are used as suffix after corresponding name of
pests they kill
 Also, there are pesticides that control more
than one class of pests and may be considered in
more than one pesticide class.
 An example is 2, 4-D, which is used as a
herbicide for broadleaf weed control, but it is a
plant growth regulator at low rates.
 Attractants and repellents are considered
pesticides because of their use in pest control
  Classification Based on Chemical Composition
of Pesticides

The most common and useful method of

classifying pesticide is based on their chemical
composition and nature of active ingredients. It is
such kind of classification that gives the clue
about the efficacy, physical and chemical
properties of the respective pesticides.
 Based on chemical composition, pesticides are
classified into four main groups namely;

 organochlorines
 organophosphorus
 carbamates
 pyrethrin and pyrethroids
 Organochlorine

Organochlorines pesticides (also known as

chlorinated hydrocarbons) are organic
compounds attached with five or more chlorine
atoms. They represent the one of the first group of
pesticides ever synthesized and used in agriculture
and in public health.

Most of them were widely used as insecticides for

the control of a wide range of insects, and they
have a long- term residual effect in the
environment.
 These insecticides may disrupt the nervous
system of the insects leading to convulsions and
paralysis followed by eventual death.
 Most common examples of these pesticides
includes: DDT, lindane, endosulfan, aldrin,
dieldrin and chlordane
 Organophosphate

Organophosphate pesticides are considered to

be one of the broad spectrum pesticides which
control wide range of pests due to their multiple
functions.

 They are characterized with stomach poison,

contact poison and fumigant poison leading to
nerve poisons. These pesticides are also
biodegradable, cause minimum environmental
pollution and are slow pest resistance
 Organophosphorus insecticides are more toxic
to vertebrates and invertebrates.

As a result, nervous impulses fail to move across

the synapse causing a rapid twitching of voluntary
muscles, hence, leading to paralysis and death.
 Carbamates

Structurally, Carbamates are similar to

organophosphates. However, they differ in their
origin. Organophosphates are derivatives of
phosphoric acid, while carbamates derived from
carbamic acid.
The working principal of carbamate pesticides is
similar to organophosphate pesticides by
affecting the transmission of nerve signals resulting
in the death of the pest by poisoning
Carbamates
 Synthetic pyrethroids
 Are group of organic pesticide that can be
synthesized by duplicating the structure of
natural pyrethrins.
 Synthetic-pyrethroid pesticides are highly toxic
to insects and fish but slightly toxic to mammals
and birds.
 They are considered to be amongst the safest
insecticides for use in food. Cypermethrin and
Permethrin are the most used synthetic-
pyrethroid pesticides.
C21H28O3
Other Minor Classes of
Pesticides
  Classification based on sources of origin
 Pesticide may be classified into chemical
pesticide and bio-pesticides.
 The main benefits of using biological pesticides
are host specificity. They act on the target pest
only and strongly linked organisms, whereas
chemical pesticides are usually of wide range
which affects large group of non-target
organisms.
Bio-pesticides are usually environmentally
friendly as they are less toxic, decomposed easily
and required in small quantities
 Chemical pesticides cause major
environmental pollution as they are quite toxic
and not always biodegradable.

Another important advantage of using bio-

pesticide is the fact that they are less susceptible
to genetic modification in plant populations. This
confirms the little chance of pesticide resistance in
pest, which is hardly seen in case of chemical
pesticides
 Microbial pesticides
The active ingredient in microbial pesticides is
microorganism such as bacterium, fungus or
protozoan. These pesticides kill insects either by
toxins released by microbial organisms, or by
infection by the organisms.
Two most common pesticides that fit within this
group include the bacterial toxin produced by
Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bti), and the live bacteria,
Bacillus sphaericus (Bs).
 Plant incorporated protectants
These groups of pesticides are produced by
plants naturally. Also, the gene necessary for
production of pesticide is introduced into the plant
through genetic engineering. Hence, the
pesticide then produced by such plant and the
genetic material introduced are together defined
as plant incorporated protectants (PIPs)
 Biochemical pesticides
The third class is Biochemical pesticides which
include natural materials that have nontoxic
mechanisms to control pests. Examples of
Biochemical pesticides are insect sex pheromones
(act by interfering in mating), a range of aromatic
plant extracts (work by attracting insect pests into
traps)
 Based on range of target it kills
 Broad spectrum pesticides are those pesticides
that are meant to kill a wide range of pests and
other non-target organisms. They are
nonselective and are often lethal to reptiles, fish,
pets and birds.
 Selective pesticides on the other hand are those
pesticides which kill only a specific or group of
pests leaving other organisms unaffected or with
a little effect
 Based on types of pesticide formulation
Pesticide formulations are a mixture of the
active ingredient (AI) and inert ingredients.
 Active ingredients are chemicals that aimed to
control target pests
 inert ingredient (such as water, petroleum
solvent, wetting agents, spreaders, stickers,
extenders) are the materials added to the AI to
make pesticide safer, more effective and easier
to measure, mix and apply.
 Liquids
These formulations consist of concentrated oil
solutions of technical grade pesticides combined
with an emulsifier added to permit further mixing
with water.
 Powders
These dispersible powders are finely ground.
Dry powders consisting of active pesticide
ingredients mixed with other ingredients to help in
mixing and dispersion. They are of two types: -
wettable and soluble powder.
 Granules
Under this formulation, the active ingredient is
mixed with various inert clays to form particles of
various sizes. The size of granules used in vector
control usually ranges from 20 to 80 mesh.
Granular formulations are prepared for direct
application and require specialized dispersal
equipment.
 Baits
Baits contain active ingredients that are mixed
with a pest food or attractant.
 Dust
Dust pesticides formulations are finely ground
mixtures of active ingredient and a carrier
material. Dust formulations are intended for direct
application without further mixing.
 Ultra low volume liquid
Ultra low volume concentrates (ULV) are sold as
technical product in its original liquid form, or solid
product dissolved in a small amount of solvent.
These concentrates may approach 100% active
ingredient. They are designed to be used as is or to
be diluted with only small quantities of specified
solvents.
 Depending on the health risk associated with
pesticides and toxic behavior of pesticides. The
World Health Organization (WHO) classified
them into four categories
 Classification based on mode of action
 Physical poison - killing of one insect by exerting a physical
effect
 Protoplasmic poison - are responsible for precipitation of
protein
 Respiratory
poison - chemicals which inactivate respiratory
enzymes. Example: Hydrogen cyanide
 Nerve poison - inhibit impulse conduction. Example: Malathion
 Chitin inhibition - inhibit the chitin synthesis in pests.
 EFFECT OF PESTICIDES
Pesticides hold a unique position among
environmental contaminants due to their high
biological activity and toxicity. Most pesticides do
not distinguish between pests and other similar
incidental lifeform. They are potentially harmful to
humans, animals, other living organisms, and the
environment if used incorrectly
 It is estimated that about 5000–20,000 people
died and about 500,000 to 1 million people get
poisoned every year by pesticides. At least half of
the intoxicated and 75% of those who die due to
pesticide is agricultural workers. The rest is being
poisoned due to eating of contaminated food
 Potential Impact on Human Health
Pesticides may enter the human body through
inhalation of polluted air, dust and vapor that
contain pesticides; through oral exposure by
consuming contaminated food and water; and
through dermal exposure by direct contact with
pesticides.

Toxicity of chemicals, length and magnitude of

exposure determines the degree of harmful
impact on human health
 Toxicity of chemicals depends on the nature of
toxicant, routes of exposure (oral, dermal and
inhalation), dose and organism. Toxicity can be
either :

 Acute toxicity is the ability of a substance to

cause harmful effects which develop rapidly
following absorption, i.e., a few hours or a day.
 Chronic toxicity is the ability of a substance to
cause adverse health effects resulting from long-
term exposure to a substance.
 Acute effect

occur from a single exposure

The four routes of exposure are dermal (skin),

inhalation (lungs), oral (mouth), and the eyes

Acute toxicity is determined by examining the

dermal toxicity, inhalation toxicity, and oral toxicity
of test animals.
 Pesticide drift from agricultural fields, exposure
to pesticides during application and intentional or
unintentional poisoning generally leads to the
acute illness in humans.

 Several symptoms such as headaches, body

aches, skin rashes, poor concentration, nausea,
dizziness, impaired vision, cramps, panic attacks
and in severe cases coma and death could
occur due to pesticide poisoning
 About 3 million cases of acute poisoning due to
pesticides are reported worldwide every year. Out
of these 3 million pesticide poisoning cases, 2
million are suicide attempts and the rest of these
are occupational or accidental poisoning cases
 Chronic effect

Any harmful effects that occur from small doses

repeated over a period of time are termed
“chronic effects.” Suspected chronic effects from
exposure to certain pesticides include birth
defects, toxicity to a fetus, and production of
benign or malignant tumors, genetic changes,
blood disorders, nerve disorders, endocrine
disruption, and reproduction effects
 More commonly agricultural farmer is at a
higher risk to be affected. However, there is equal
chance of general population also to be affected
especially due to contaminated food and water
or pesticides drift from the fields
 Impacts on Environment

Extensive application and subsequent disposal

of pesticides by farmers, institutions and the
general public offer numerous possible sources of
pesticides in the environment.
It is almost impossible to limit the area of effect
of pesticides. Even when it is applied in a very
small area, it spreads in the air, is absorbed in the
soil or dissolves in the water and eventually
reaches a much bigger area.
 environment, such as in soil or
pesticides are sprayed air water

Wash off or Near by waters, layer of soil

Applied to the soil percolates and ground water
 Impacts on non-target organism
Most insecticides once applied to kill pests; it
may also adversely non- target organisms such as
earthworm, natural predators and pollinator.

Decline organisms population or

loss of biodiversity
 Impacts on soil micro-flora
A major portion of the non-target pesticides
from agriculture application and other sources
may accumulates in soil.

The degraded pesticides interact with the soil

and with its indigenous microorganisms, thus
altering its microbial diversity, biochemical
reactions and enzymatic activity Any alteration in
the microbial diversity and soil biomass eventually
leads to the disturbance in soil ecosystem and
loss of soil fertility.