| A | B |
|---|
| pesticide | chemical to kill or control populations of organisms we consider undesirable |
| insecticide | kill insects by clogging airways, disrupting nerves and muscles, or preventing reproduction |
| herbicides | kill weeds by disrupting metabolism and growth |
| fungicide | fungus killer |
| rodenticides | rat and mouse killers |
| broad-spectrum agents | agents that are toxic to many pests |
| narrow-spectrum (selective) agents | effective against a narrowly defined group of organisms |
| persistance | length of time pesticides remain deadly in the environment |
| Rachel Carson | Silent spring author |
| IPM (integrated pest management) | an approach to controlling pests in which each crop and its pests are evaluated as parts of an ecological system. Then the farmer develops a control program that uses a combination of cultivation, biological and chemical approaches at specific times. |
| bioaccumulation | increas in the concentration of a chemical in specific organs or tissues at a level higher than would normally be expected |
| biomagnification | increase in comcentration of DDT, PCBs, and slowly degradable, fat-soluble chemicals in organisms at sucessively higher trophic levels of a food chain or web. |
| Organophosphate Pesticides | a chemical pesticide- These pesticides affect the nervous system by disrupting the enzyme that regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Most organophosphates are insecticides. They were developed during the early 19th century, but their effects on insects, which are similar to their effects on humans, were discovered in 1932. Some are very poisonous (they were used in World War II as nerve agents). However, they usually are not persistent in the environment. |
| Carbamate Pesticides | a chemical pesticide that affects the nervous system by disupting an enzyme that regulates acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. The enzyme effects are usually reversible. There are several subgroups within the carbamates. |
| Organochlorine Insecticides | a chemical pesticides that were commonly used in the past, but many have been removed from the market due to their health and environmental effects and their persistence (e.g. DDT and chlordane). |
| Pyrethroid Pesticides | a chemical pesticides that were developed as a synthetic version of the naturally occurring pesticide pyrethrin, which is found in chrysanthemums. They have been modified to increase their stability in the environment. Some synthetic pyrethroids are toxic to the nervous system. |
| Microbial pesticides | a biopesticide- consist of a microorganism (e.g., a bacterium, fungus, virus or protozoan) as the active ingredient. Microbial pesticides can control many different kinds of pests, although each separate active ingredient is relatively specific for its target pest[s]. For example, there are fungi that control certain weeds, and other fungi that kill specific insects. |
| Plant-Incorporated-Protectants (PIPs) | a biopesticide- are pesticidal substances that plants produce from genetic material that has been added to the plant. For example, scientists can take the gene for the Bt pesticidal protein, and introduce the gene into the plant's own genetic material. Then the plant, instead of the Bt bacterium, manufactures the substance that destroys the pest. The protein and its genetic material, but not the plant itself, are regulated by EPA. |
| Biochemical pesticides | a biopesticide- are naturally occurring substances that control pests by non-toxic mechanisms. Conventional pesticides, by contrast, are generally synthetic materials that directly kill or inactivate the pest. Biochemical pesticides include substances, such as insect sex pheromones, that interfere with mating, as well as various scented plant extracts that attract insect pests to traps. Because it is sometimes difficult to determine whether a substance meets the criteria for classification as a biochemical pesticide, EPA has established a special committee to make such decisions. |
| Biopesticides | are certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. For example, canola oil and baking soda have pesticidal applications and are considered biopesticides. |
