US Green Living .com
Pest and weed control is the process of eliminating plants and animals that are harmful to crops in an agricultural setting. Many different methods are used to prevent damage caused by pests and weeds. Although pest and weed control is necessary to ensure the productivity of a crop, some of the methods used are known to be quite detrimental to the environment and to human health.
Pest control can be performed in a variety of ways. Some of the oldest and most basic forms include the implementation of a crop rotation system, intercropping, which is the mixture of different crops, and also selective breeding practices. Agricultural technology has introduced the use of chemical based pesticides that are usually administered through handheld or tractor mounted sprayers or by an airplane, known as crop dusting.
Weed control also is carried out through many means. The most primitive method of eradicating weeds is by physical extraction, or “weeding,” by means of a tool such as a plough. The use of physical barriers like sheets of plastic is also done. The most common method of weed control for agricultural application today is through the use of herbicides which are genetically designed to only kill weeds and not food crops. These are usually administered to the soil or the weeds themselves.
Pesticides used to kill insects and other animals that feed on crops can cause much damage to the environment if used inappropriately. Excessive pesticides remain in the soil after sprayings and are washed away by rain that forces them to be absorbed into groundwater. Avoiding pesticide contamination is a tricky process only feasible through careful containment practices. Fires, which are not uncommon on farms, can be very detrimental to the environment if chemical pesticides are being burnt. Pesticide presence in rivers can be carried all the way to the ocean and polluted air can be blown to other areas with denser populations. Chemicals that make their way into groundwater can eventually end up in water sources that are used for drinking. Blue baby syndrome, a disease that causes death in infants, is often caused by contaminated water. Pesticides released into the air cause difficulty breathing and a host of respiratory problems.
Herbicides also pose a problem. After seasons of continual use, weeds may be come immune to previously effective applications of herbicides. Though usually not as much of a health risk as pesticides, herbicide presence in groundwater and other water sources also can be dangerous to humans. Many other problems associated with pesticides also can be attributed to herbicides.
Alternatives to pesticides and herbicides in pest and weed control are often applied in instances of organic farming. Pest control is handled much more carefully than in industrial agriculture with little or no pesticide and instead using methods like crop rotation and physical barriers such as nets and setting traps. Instead of using herbicides to prevent weed growth, methods like more controlled irrigation, pulling weeds by hand, and mechanical tilling are employed.
