Herald homework: Pesticides have place in agriculture

Published 1:30 am Monday, April 13, 2020

Pesticides can help humanity because they control or repel pests from demolishing farmers’ crops. “Pesticides can prevent crop failure, control invasive plants, or promote a uniformly green lawn.” This shows that pesticides can prevent pests from ravaging crops. Also, if all of your grocery store suppliers’ crops are destroyed by pests, what would you eat without your vegetables and grains?

Additionally, “Pesticides are those substances which are used to control, destroy, repel or attract pests in order to minimize their detrimental effects.” Pesticides help control and repel pests to have healthy, undamaged crops; these healthy crops can help sustain people and others.

Finally, also in the article “The effects of fertilizer and pesticides” by K. Gregg Elliot, “the term pesticides includes chemicals used to control insects, fungi and weeds.” Pesticides contain chemicals used to keep pests from destroying crops, which supports the community around there.

Still, pesticides could be washed down into waterways when events like rain occur, then the chemicals — specifically nitrogen — from the pesticides cause the aquatic life there to perish. Even though pesticides may wash into waterways, pesticides prevent weeds and insects from damaging crops, and there are also environmental-friendly pesticides such as neem and spinosad. In conclusion, although chemicals from the pesticides may affect the environment, pesticides help us humans survive by exterminating pests.

Jason P.R.

sixth grade

Bothell