Families of Common Synthetic Agrochemicals Designed to Target Insect Pests or Vectors in Landscapes and Households

Abstract The global usage of agrochemicals is expanding in scale and intensity, thus, objective of completing this article is to know the properties of chemical families used to manage insect pests and vectors concerning health and environmental risks. Insecticides are grouped into families according to chemical structure and knowing about the chemical family allows an applicator to make or inform choices on protective option. Organochlorines or chlorinated hydrocarbons represent one of the first groups of pesticides synthesized; all targets the nervous system, and the properties of persistence and bioaccumulation leads eventually to the withdrawal of registration and use of organochlorine insecticides. Organophosphates act by inhibiting the cholinesterase enzyme that is enzyme used in nerve function. A number of insecticides in this family are used to control a wide range of landscape insect pests and these products tend to have a short persistence in the soil. The carbamate group includes insecticides, most of which have a short persistence in the environment. Like organophosphates, carbamate insecticides inhibit cholinesterase and have moderate to high toxicity. Pyrethroids are synthetically produced molecules that are chemically similar to pyrethrins and are not persistent. At rates applied for insect’s control, they break down quickly in sunlight and are rarely present after just a few days. Recently, due to various problems like insect pests resistance in existing insecticides, some new insecticides have been developed like neonicotinoids, fermentation products, avermectins, spinosad, pyrroles and phenyl-pyrazole shaving novel mode of actions. Novel chemistry insecticides are also able to give higher productivity, sustainability, safety, biodegradability and phytosanitary measures, and require in very little amount, have very less residue problem, target specific pest and cause no harm to non-target organisms. The type of surface, training, equipment, runoff, drift, habits of the pest and safety are all considered when a manufacturer designs an insecticide formulation.

[File Type: PDF]