Pesticides Overburden In Agriculture And Its Consequences- A Review

Abstract

Pesticides are widely used in insect pests management in agricultural and forestry sectors, and they can also be used at home and at work to eradicate household pests to increase agricultural production tremendously. A vast majority of the population in India is engaged in agriculture and is therefore highly exposed to the pesticides used in agriculture. Exposure to pesticides both occupationally and environmentally causes a range of human health problems. Indiscriminate and repeated application of pesticides leads to loss of biodiversity, pest-resistance and other ecological imbalance. In the absence of an effective alternative method of insect control, reliance on chemicals is bound to increase, which exerts selection pressure on the target organism resulting into the development of resistance. The persistence nature of pesticides led to their accumulation in animal tissues and subsequently causes human dietary exposure through consumption of animal products. In the present review, various implications of pesticides use in agriculture is discussed.