Pesticidesare synthetic or natural substances used to combat harmful organisms. They are widely used in horticulture and agriculture as plant protection products against diseases and pests. See more detailswhat are pesticides , what are the differences between the individualtypes of pesticidesand what you should know before deciding onpesticide application in our garden.
Pesticides used in gardens
Pesticides - what are these?
Although in amateur crops, on plots and in home gardens, mainly natural methods of plant protection should be used, chemical plant protection products are also often used, i.e.pesticides Sometimes it results from ignorance, inability to use natural methods in plant protection, and sometimes the invasion of a disease or pest is so strong that we will not be able to deal with the problem otherwise. If we decide touse of pesticides , it is worth having basic knowledge to choose the right agent to fight a given plant disease or pest.
In the maze of many terms used by traders and producers of funds, you can get lost, and then it is very easy to make a mistake. That is why today we present the most common terms that we can meet in the naming of plant protection products.
The most general term that most of us have heard ispesticidesThe word pesticide comes from the combination of two Latin words: pestis, meaning plague, and caedo, meaning to kill. The termpesticidesrefers not only to agents used in the protection of crops against pests and pathogens, but also describes many other chemicals that are commonly used to combat undesirable species in livestock buildings, warehouses, hospitals, schools etc.Therefore, the term pesticides refers to a large group of chemical compounds used to combat harmful organisms, also outside of horticulture and agriculture.
Pesticides - types and application
Among pesticides, separate sections for agents used in the fight against particular organisms have been separated. Here are the terms most often used forpesticides used in horticulture , which is what it is for:
Fungicides(from Latin, fungus means fungus, caedo to kill) are agents containing various chemical substances, designed to fight fungal causes of crop diseases. Their action is based mainly on the disturbance of the growth and development of individual cells that make up the mycelium and, as a result, the rapid death of the entire fungal organism. A certain group of fungicides may also positively increase the resistance of plants, which become less susceptible to infection by these pathogens. To put it simply, gardening amateurs call fungicides simply fungicides.
Take all precautions when using pesticides
Insecticides(Latin: insecta - insect, caedo - to kill) are agents used to fight insect species considered as pests in horticultural, agricultural and forest crops, in storage vegetables and fruits, as well as in the apartments. Currently used insecticides are easily biodegradable, i.e. decompose into non-toxic components.
Molluscicides(Latin: molluscus - soft, caedo - to kill) are preparations containing chemical substances of natural origin or obtained by laboratory synthesis, with gastric or contact action, intended for the control of molluscs, including naked snails, which are a serious problem in plots and gardens throughout the country.
Herbicides(Latin: herbus - herb, caedo - to kill) are used for selective or total control of plants before sowing or in existing crops.They penetrate directly after application through the green parts of plants or are taken from the soil by the root system and spread throughout the plant, disrupting developmental processes. A separate group of herbicides are agents based on glyphosate, which destroy all plants in the sprayed area. This is often used by farmers when preparing their position for a new crop. In home gardens, herbicides are most often used to destroy weeds in the area where the lawn is to be established.
Repellents(Latin: repellere - to deter) are chemical compounds, usually non-toxic, designed to deter unwanted species of animals. Repellants also include sound and light devices that are used to discourage some pests from visiting gardens, warehouses and pantries. When growing on a plot with repellants, we most often meet when looking for agents that repel moles and field rodents.
Attractantsis a group of pesticides that are used to attract pests to traps, encourage target organisms to visit insecticide control areas, and attract beneficial organisms to crop plantations. Sex pheromones are a special group of attractants, secreted by many insects in order to attract a partner. Gardeners use them to confuse males in fruit orchards, as well as in various types of glue traps, to increase the number of pests they harvest. A good example is the well-known flypaper.
