Hostname: page-component-669899f699-b58lm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-24T22:44:23.126Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pest management and pesticide impacts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2011

David Pimentel  and
David A. Andow
David Pimentel
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology and Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
David A. Andow
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology and Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
Get access

Abstract

Although pesticides provide benefits in our battle to control pests that destroy more than a third of all food, the use of pesticides also results in significant costs to public health and the environment. As many as 500,000 humans are poisoned annually by pesticides in the world; the United States alone reports about 45,000 human pesticide poisonings.

Pesticides have also caused many detrimental effects on agroecosystems and natural ecosystems. These include: (i) reducing and sometimes eliminating beneficial natural enemies that keep pest populations at low densities; (ii) increasing or decreasing reproduction in various animal populations; (iii) altering decomposition rates of soil organic matter; (iv) developing insecticide resistance in pests, which results in increased pesticide use and additional crop losses; and (v) eliminating honey bee and other bee populations in certain regions thus reducing crop yields and quality. Pesticides also have had major impacts on fish, bird and mammal populations.

Keywords

pesticidesenvironmentecological impactspublic healthpest managementnatural biotapest losses
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 5 , Special Issue 3: Perception and Management of Pests and Pesticides , June 1984 , pp. 141 - 149
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Abdallah, M. D. (1968) The effect of sublethal dosages of DDT, parathion, and dieldrin on oviposition of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)). Bull. ent. Soc. Egypt econ. Ser. 2, 211–217.Google Scholar
Adkisson, P. L. (1971) Objective uses of insecticides in agriculture. In Agricultural Chemicals—Harmony or Discord for Food, People, and the Environment (Edited by Swift, J. E.), pp. 43–51. Division of Agricultural Sciences, University of California.Google Scholar
Adkisson, P. L. (1972) The integrated control of the insect pests of cotton. Proc. Tall Timbers Conf. Ecol. Anim. Control Habitat Manage. 4, 175–188.Google Scholar
Adkisson, P. L. (1977) Alternatives to the unilateral use of insecticides for insect pest control in certain field crops. In Symposium on Ecology and Agricultural Production (Edited by Seatz, L. F.), pp. 129–144. University of Tennessee, Knoxville.Google Scholar
Akesson, N. B., Yates, W. E. and Christensen, P. (1972) Aerial dispersion of pesticide chemicals of known emissions, particle size and weather conditions. Abstr. Am. Chem. Soc. Mtgs. Boston.Google Scholar
Akins, M. B., Jeffrey, L. S., Overton, J. R. and Morgan, T. H. Jr (1976) Soybean response to preemergence herbicides. Proc. S. Weed Sci. Soc. 29, 50.Google Scholar
Alexander, M. (1977) An Introduction to Soil Microbiology. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Barrett, G. W. (1968) The effects of an acute insecticide stress on a semi-enclosed grassland ecosystem. Ecology 49, 1019–1035.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, G. W. and Darnell, R. M. (1967) Effects of dimethoate on small mammal populations. Am. Midl. Nat. 77, 164–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benevue, A., Hylin, J. W., Kawano, Y. and Kelley, T. W. (1972) Pesticides in water. Organochlorine residues in water, sediment, algae and fish, Hawaii— 1970–71. Pestic. Monit. J. 6, 56–64.Google Scholar
van den Bosch, R. and Messenger, P. S. (1973) Biological Control. Intext Educational Publishers, New York.Google Scholar
Brooker, M. P. and Edwards, R. W. (1973) Effects of the herbicide paraquat on the ecology of a reservoir. I. Botanical and chemical aspects. Freshwat. Biol. 3, 157–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, A. W. A. (1978) Ecology of Pesticides. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Clark, L. C., Shy, C. M., Most, B. M., Florin, J. W. and Portier, K. M. (1977) Cancer mortality and agricultural pesticide use in the southeastern United States. 8th International Scientific Meeting, International Epidemiology Association. San Juan, Puerto Rico.Google Scholar
Cole, H., Mackenzie, D., Smith, C. B. and Bergman, E. L. (1968) Influence of various persistent chlorinated insecticides on the macro and micro element constituents of Zea mays and Phaseolus vulgaris growing in soil containing various amounts of these materials. Bull, environ, contam. Toxic. 3, 141–153.Google ScholarPubMed
Croft, B. A. (1978) Potentials for research and implementation of integrated pest management on deciduous tree-fruits. In Pest Control Strategies (Edited by Smith, E. H. and Pimentel, D.), pp. 101–115. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Croft, B. A. and Brown, A. W. A. (1975) Responses of arthropod natural enemies to insecticides. A. Rev. Ent. 20, 285–335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Debach, P. H. (Ed) (1964) Biological Control of Insect Pests and Weeds. Reinhold, New York.Google Scholar
Duggan, R. E. and Duggan, M. B. (1973) Pesticide residues in food. In Environmental Pollution by Pesticides (Edited by Edwards, C. A.), pp. 334–364. Plenum, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, C. A. (1965) Effects of pesticide residues on soil invertebrates and plants. In Ecology and the Industrial Society Symp. Brit. Ecol. Soc. 5 (Edited by Goodman, G. T., Edwards, R. W. and Lambert, J. M.), pp. 239–261. Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. A. (1973a) Environmental Pollution by Pesticides. Plenum, London.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edwards, C. A. (1973b) Persistent Pesticides in the Environment, 2nd edn.CRC Press, Cleveland.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. A. (1980) Interactions between agricultural practice and earthworms. In Soil Biology as Related to Land Use Practices (Edited by Dindal, D. L.), pp. 3–11. Office of Pesticide and Toxic Substances, EPA, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. A. and Lofty, J. R. (1977) Biology of Earthworms. Chapman & Hall, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliot, B. R., Lumb, J. M., Reeves, T. G. and Telford, T. E. (1975) Yield losses in weed-free wheat and barley due to post-emergence herbicides. Weed Res. 15, 107–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EPA (1974) Strategy of the Environmental Protection Agency for controlling the adverse effects of pesticides. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs, Office of Water and Hazardous Materials, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Henderson, J. (1968) Legal aspects of crop spraying. Univ. III. Agr. exp. Sta. Circ. 99.Google Scholar
Hueck, H. J., Kuener, D. J., Denboer, P. J. and Jaegerg, Draafsel E. (1952) The increase of egg-production of the fruit-tree red spider mite (Metatetranychus ulmi Koch) under influence of DDT. Physiologia comp. oecol. II, 371–377.Google Scholar
Huffaker, C. B. (Ed.) (1980) New Technology of Pest Control. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Hurlbert, S. H. (1975) Secondary effects of pesticides on aquatic ecosystems. Residue Rev. 57, 81–148.Google ScholarPubMed
ICAITI (1977) An Environmental and Economic Study of the Consequences of Pesticide Use in Central American Cotton Production. Final Report. Central American Research Institute for Industry, United Nations Environment Programme.Google Scholar
Ignoffo, C. M., Hostetter, D. L., Garcia, C. and Pinnell, R. E. (1975) Sensitivity of the entomopathogenic fungus Nomuraea rileyi to chemical pesticides used on soybeans. Environ. Ent. 4, 765–768.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ishii, S. and Hirano, C. (1963) Growth responses of larvae of the rice-stem borer to rice plants treated with 2, 4–D. Entomologia exp. appl. 6, 257–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, E. K., Young, J. H., Molnar, D. R. and Morrison, R. D. (1976a) Effects of three insect control schemes on populations of cotton insects and spiders, fruit damage, and yield of Westburn 70 cotton. Environ. Ent. 5, 508–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, D. W., Kish, L. P. and Allen, G. E. (1976b) Field evaluation of selected pesticides on the natural development of the entomopathogen, Nomuraea rileyi, on the velvetbean caterpillar in soybean. Environ. Ent. 5, 964–966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keith, J. O., Woods, L. A. and Hunt, E. C. (1970) Reproductive failure in brown pelicans on the Pacific coast. Trans 35th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, pp. 56–63.Google Scholar
Keenleyside, M. H. A. (1967) Effects of forest spraying with DDT in New Brunswick on food of young Atlantic salmon. J. Fish Res. Bd Can. 24, 807.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinzer, E. E., Cowan, C. B., Ridgway, R. L., Davis, J. W., Coppedge, J. R. and Jones, S. L. (1977) Populations of arthropod predators and Heliothis spp. after applications of aldicarb and monocrotophos to cotton. Environ. Ent. 6, 13–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koeman, J. H., Den Boer, W. M. J., Feith, A. F., De Iongh, H. H., Spliethoff, P. C., Na'Isa, B. K. and Spielberger, V. (1978) Three years' observation on side effects of helicopter applications of insecticides used to exterminate Glossina species in Nigeria. Environ. Pollut. 15, 31–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kutz, F. W., Strassman, S. C. and Yobs, A. R. (1977) Survey of pesticide residues and their metabolites in humans. In Pesticide Management and Insecticide Resistance (Edited by Watson, D. L. and Brown, A. W. A.), pp. 523–539. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Lauer, G. J., Pimentel, D., Macbeth, A., Salwen, B. and Seddon, J. (1976) Report of the Biological Communities Task Group Report No. 8. Hudson Basin Project, Rockefeller Foundation, New York.Google Scholar
Mahadevan, V. and Chandy, K. C. (1959) Preliminary studies on the increase in cotton yield due to honeybee pollination. Madras Agr. J. 46, 23–26.Google Scholar
Martin, N. A. (1976) Effect of four insecticides on the pasture ecosystem. V. Earthworms (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae) and arthropods extracted by wet sieving and salt flotation. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 19, 111–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGregor, S. E. (1976) Insect Pollination of Cultivated Crop Plants. Agricultural Handbook No. 496. USDA, Agr. Res. Serv.Google Scholar
McGregor, S. E., Rhyne, C., Worley, S. Jr and Todd, F. E. (1955) The role of honeybees in cotton pollination. Agron.J. 47, 23–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menhinick, E. F. (1962) Comparison of invertebrate populations of soil and litter of mowed grassland in areas treated and untreated with pesticides. Ecology 43, 556–561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Metcalf, R. L. (1980) Changing role of insecticides in crop protection. A. Rev. Ent. 25, 219–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NAS (1975) Pest Control: An Assessment of Present and Alternative Technologies, Vols I–V. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Newsom, L. D. (1962) The boll weevil problem in relation to other cotton insects. Proc. Boll Weevil Research Symp., State College, Miss., pp. 83–94.Google Scholar
Oka, I. N. and Pimentel, D. (1974) Corn susceptibility to corn leaf aphids and common smut after herbicide treatment. Environ. Ent. 3, 911–915.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peakall, D. B. (1970) DDT-induced inhibition of avian shell gland carbonic anhydrase: a mechanism for thin eggshells. Science 168, 594–595.Google Scholar
Pimentel, D. (1961a) An ecological approach to the insecticide problem. J. econ. Ent. 54, 108–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pimentel, D. (1961b) Competition and the species-per-genus structure of communities. Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 54, 61–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pimentel, D. (1971) Ecological Effects of Pesticides on Nontarget Species. U.S. Govt. Print. Off., Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Pimentel, D. (1976) World food crisis: energy and pests. Bull. ent. Soc. Am. 22, 20–26.Google Scholar
Pimentel, D. and Pimentel, M. (1979) Food, Energy and Society. Edward Arnold, London.Google Scholar
Pimentel, D. and Edwards, C. A. (1982) Pesticides and ecosystems. Bio Science 32, 595–600.Google Scholar
Pimentel, D., Dritschilo, W., Krummel, J. and Kutzman, J. (1975) Energy and land constraints in food production. Science 190, 254–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pimentel, D., Shoemaker, C., Ladue, E. L., Rovinsky, R. B. and Russell, N. P. (1977) Alternatives for Reducing Insecticides on Cotton and Corn: Economic and Environmental Impact. Report on Grant No. R802518-02, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency.Google Scholar
Pimentel, D., Krummel, J., Gallahan, D., Hough, J., Merrill, A., Schreiner, I., Vittum, P., Koziol, F., Back, E., Yen, D. and Fiance, S. (1978). Benefits and costs of pesticide use. Bio Science 28, 772, 778–784.Google Scholar
Pimentel, D., Andow, D., Dyson-Hudson, R., Gallahan, D., Jacobson, S., Irish, M., Kroop, S., Moss, A., Schreiner, I., Shepard, M., Thompson, T. and Vinzant, B. (1980a) Environmental and social costs of pesticides: a preliminary assessment. Oikos 34, 127–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pimentel, D., Andow, D., Dyson-Hudson, R., Gallahan, D., Jacobson, S., Irish, M., Kroop, S., Moss, A., Schreiner, I., Shepard, M., Thompson, T. and Vinzant, B. (1980b) Pesticides: environmental and social costs. In Pest Control: Cultural and Environmental Aspects (Edited by Pimentel, D. and Perkins, J. H.), pp. 99–158. Westview Press, Boulder, Co.Google Scholar
Plapp, F. W. and Vinson, S. B. (1977) Comparative toxicities of some insecticides to the tobacco budworm and its ichneumonid parasite, Campoletis sonorensis. Environ. Ent. 6, 381–384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potts, G. R. and Vickerman, G. P. (1974) Studies on the cereal ecosystem. Adv. ecol. Res. 8, 107–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reinert, R. E. (1967) The accumulation of dieldrin in an alga (Scenedesmus obliquus), Daphnia (Daphnia magna), and the guppy (Lebistes reticulatus) food chain. Ph.D. dissertation. Univ. Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Reinert, R. E. (1972) Accumulation of dieldrin in an alga (Scenedesmus obliquus), Daphnia magna, and the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). J. Fish Res. Bd Can. 29, 1413–1418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridgway, R. L., Lingren, P. D., Cowan, C. B. and Davis, J.W. (1967) Populations of arthropod predators and Heliothis spp. after applications of systemic insecticides to cotton. J. econ. Ent. 60, 1012–1096.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosene, W. and Lay, D. W. (1963) Disappearance and visibility of quail remains. J. Wildl. Mgmt 27, 139–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Rumker, R. and Horay, F. (1974) Farmers' Pesticide Use Decisions and Attitudes on Alternative Crop Protection Methods. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
van Steenwyk, R. A., Toscano, N. C., Ballmer, G. R., Kido, K. and Reynolds, H. T. (1975) Increases of Heliothis spp. in cotton under various insecticide treatment regimes. Environ. Ent. 4, 993–996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, A. R. and Edwards, C. A. (1974) Effects of pesticides on nontarget invertebrates in freshwater and soil. In Pesticides in Soil and Water (Edited by Guenzi, W. D.), pp. 341–386. Soil Sci. Soc. Am., Madison.Google Scholar
USDA (1975) Farmers' use of pesticides in 1971—extent of crop use. Econ. Res. Serv., Agr. Econ. Rep. No. 268.Google Scholar
USDA (1976) The Pesticide Review 1975. U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Stab. Conserv. Serv.Google Scholar
Ware, G. W., Cahill, W. P., Gerhardt, P. D. and Witt, J. M. (1970) Pesticides drift IV. On-target deposits from aerial application of insecticides. J. econ. Ent. 63, 1982–1983.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weir, D. and Schapiro, M. (1981) Circle of Poison. Institute of Food and Development Policy, San Francisco.Google Scholar
WHO (1981) Pesticide deaths: what's the toll? Ecoforum 6, 10.Google Scholar