Pesticides

Print
Send

A farmer was spraying pesticides on some Chinese 'Choi Sum' vegetables in Xinlou village, north east of Guangzhou.

Pesticides are chemicals designed to kill or control undesirable organisms. Unlike other toxic chemicals, pesticides are deliberately dispersed over large areas of the rural and urban environment. They are used within agriculture and forestry to kill pests and weeds, on roads and railways to prevent weed growth and by industry to protect manufactured products.

Pesticides can be classified according to the types of pest organism they are designed to attack; insecticides work against insects, herbicides against weeds, fungicides against fungi, and rodenticides against rodents. Pesticides come in different physical forms such as liquids, powders, or granules.