Biology Coursework Essay Title: Is chemical pest control a good thing? A pest is usually seen as an organism potentially hazardous to health and

... Sanna Ahsan 12SU Biology Coursework Essay Title: Is chemical pest control a good thing? A pest is usually seen as an organism potentially hazardous to health and is in competition with humans for space food or soil. Pesticides are any chemical or biological agent that kills plant or animal pests; herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, etc. are all pesticides. There are various types of chemical pesticides available such as contact pesticides which are sprayed directly onto the crop, systematic pesticides, which are sprayed on the crop but absorbed by the leaves and transported through the plant, and residual pesticides which are sprayed on the soil before the crop is planted. An ideal pesticide should: - Be specific-toxic only to the targeted organism - Not persist- but be unstable enough to break down into harmless substances and; - Not pass accumulate along the food chain I will now, using examples, assess the advantages and disadvantages of using chemical pest control, then

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