The Pesticide Paradigm

Abstract

The use of natural and synthetic chemicals as pesticides is an ancient agricultural practice. In 1000 B.C. Homer wrote of the pest averting sulphur. In 470 B.C. Democritus suggested that residues from the production of olive oil be used to cure blight. The harmful effects of salt were mentioned by Xenophon in 400 B.C. and the Romans sowed the fields of their enemies with salt as continuing punishment (8). Mercurous chloride was first used as a fungicide for seed treatment in 1755 and Bordeaux mixture (copper sulphate, lime and water) was discovered in France in 1865 and used then and now for the control of downy mildew on grapevines. The selective control of weeds began around 1900 in France, Germany and the U.S. using sulphates and nitrates of heavy metals. The 1st synthetic organic chemicals were introduced in 1932 (2-methyl-4,6-dinitrophenol for weed control) and in 1934 (1st patent on dithiocarbamates as fungicides). However, none of these or other similar events led to the widespread use and commercial development of chemicals for pest control that followed the development of DDT as an insecticide and 2,4-D as an herbicide during the 2nd World War. These products were inexpensive to produce and sell, easy to use, capable of excellent pest control and were apparently safe for all concerned. The development and use of these compounds and the hundreds that have followed have led to the currently operative pesticide paradigm which this paper states and explores.