Are there any benefits and harms to the widespread use of pesticides and sprayers in agricultural pest control?
The widespread use of pesticides and sprayers is a double-edged sword.
On the good side:
- Environmentally friendly agents: Green pesticides are safe and harmless to human health and environmentally friendly. They are produced through green process flow and have little impact on the environment.
- Efficient prevention and control of pests and diseases: It can quickly and effectively control various pests, pathogens, weeds and other harmful organisms on crops, reduce their damage to crops, ensure the normal growth
of crops, and thus improve the yield and quality of crops. For example, using pesticides against rice leafhoppers in rice fields and spraying them accurately with sprayers can timely curb the large-scale reproduction of rice
leafhoppers and avoid them causing rice to wither and reduce production.
- Save labour costs: Sprayers and other pesticide application equipment can spray pesticides on large areas of farmland relatively quickly. Compared with traditional manual catching of insects and weeding, it greatly saves
manpower input, improves labor efficiency and makes agricultural production more efficient.
- Ensure stable supply of agricultural products: By effectively preventing and controlling pests and diseases and reducing crop losses, it helps to maintain a stable output of agricultural products, meet people's demand for
various types of grains, fruits and vegetables and other agricultural products in the market, and ensure food security and the normal supply of agricultural products in the market.
On the bad side:
- Environmental pollution: During the use of pesticides, some of the pesticides will drift into the air and pollute the atmospheric environment; pesticides remaining in the soil may affect the structure and microbial community
of the soil, leading to problems such as decreased soil fertility and ecological imbalance; and with the erosion of rainwater, pesticides will also flow into water bodies, pollute rivers, lakes and seas, and endanger the survival of
aquatic organisms. For example, some waters have fish deaths and abnormal algae reproduction due to pesticide pollution.
- Harm to human health: Pesticide residues may adhere to the surface of agricultural products. After people eat agricultural products with excessive pesticide residues, they may be poisoned and have symptoms such as dizziness,
nausea, and vomiting. Long-term intake may also pose risks of carcinogenesis, teratogenesis, and mutagenesis. In addition, when spraying pesticides, if the applicators are not properly protected, the pesticides can easily enter the
human body through the respiratory tract, skin and other pathways, causing damage to health.
In summary, growers should use appropriate amounts of green pesticides accurately and reasonably, not abuse pesticides, and pay attention to the healthy cycle of the ecosystem.