Background on Pesticide Research:
The Realities and Challenges of Crop Protection
The Need for Increased Agricultural Production
For thousands of years, and on every continent except Antarctica, generations of people have worked the land to produce food products for their families and communities.
Since the earliest agricultural settlements, farmers have attempted to maximize their crop yields. This can be done in two ways:
1. By increasing
crop production.
2. By minimizing
the loss of crops.
Increased production may be achieved by:
- increasing the amount of land used for agriculture;
- improving agronomic practices, such as improved crop varieties, weed control, and the application of nutrients;
- enhancing production via irrigation from secure water sources.
Minimizing crop loss may occur by reducing the damaging impacts of diseases, insects, and weeds. Throughout much of history, pest control measures depended on the "scarecrow" approach, which incorporated a variety of techniques including brightly coloured objects and figures, noisemakers, and trained birds and animals.
Over the millennia, and with these two goals in mind, farmers would use the most hardy and productive plants to provide seed for the coming year's crop. Often by chance, and sometimes by design, a variety of these "successful" plants were bred together, taking the best qualities of each individual plant, and resulting in new, stronger, and more productive strains. In the 18th Century, a Hungarian monk named Gregor Mendel began developing the science of genetic plant breeding to manipulate specific characteristics of plants.
While these historical advancements were critical to increasing food production, it became apparent during the 20th Century that more food would be required to meet the requirements of an ever-increasing global population. By the 1930's, widespread starvation was emerging as a major problem in India and Southeast Asia. In North America, the "Dust Bowl" era was also occurring, and this raised worldwide attention regarding the fragility of the world's food supply.
During this period, attention was being focused on a technological solution to the pending global food crisis. Several answers emerged as part of the "Green Revolution." One of these was the development of a range of chemicals for direct application to agricultural fields as a means of reducing crop losses to insects, disease infestation, and weed growth. These "pesticides" are typically defined as either:
Herbicides: chemicals for eradicating weeds harmful to specific crops
Insecticides: chemicals for eradicating or deterring damaging insects
Fungicides: chemicals to minimize disease related damage to plants
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Environmental
and Public Concern