5.4 understand the reasons for pest control and the advantages and disadvantages of using pesticides and biological control with crop plants
Pests use crops as their food source which reduces the productivity of the farm ( = -crop yield) and this has a financial impact on the farmer because he is producing less. Therefore farmers use pesticides.
Pesticides are chemicals designed to kill pests. There are both advantages and disadvantages of using pesticides.
Adv:
- Pesticides are easy to obtain
- It is also easy to apply to crops
- It is extremely effective and kill pests
Dis:
- It is toxic and can kill other plants and animals and can also harm humans
- Bio-accumulation is when the pesticides build up through the food chain causing problems to animals in higher trophic levels
- Mutation happens and the pests often become resistant against a pesticide so it will have to be applied at a higher level or find an alternative pesticide which can be even more dangerous
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