Pesticide use to control insect infestation on a grass lawn and in a farmers field

A Research Essay that Explores Pesticide Use to Control Insect Infestation on a Grass Lawn and in a Farmer’s Field The most obvious benefit of pesticides depends on how and where it is being used, for instance, for economic purposes. With the use of pesticides, farmers produced plentiful supply and variety of high quality products at reasonable prices resulting to reduction of other costly inputs such as labor and fuel. Meanwhile, pesticides can also cause harmful effect especially to human health. Generally, farmers used pesticides to kill unwanted organism and to increase food supply in the society despite awareness that pesticides may cause environmental alterations. If pests would not be controlled and crops were drastically affected, disasters such as famine will definitely occur and may lead to a number of deaths. In a consumer’s perspective, saving life from a disaster like famine is the most significant benefit of using pesticides. Majority of the farmers or equivalent to almost 70% uses pesticides relatively due to fall of its price in the market over the decade (De Ferranti, Perry, Foster, Lederman &Valdes, 92). Keeping a healthy lawn needs proper maintenance and pest prevention is necessary for aesthetic pleasure, as well as for other outdoor recreational use. Lawn pesticides often manage through the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to make it healthy and be free from weeds, insect pests, and other problems that are inevitable. Integrated Pest Managementis specifically designated for lawn problems and the methods used were not harmful to environment (Christians &Ritchie, 76). Lawn became more attractive with the use of different pesticides such as fungicides to combat turf diseases, insecticides to control destructive insects, and herbicides to control aggressive weeds andto promote healthy turf. On the other hand, farmers in the field use pesticides to protect crops from insect pests, weeds and fungal diseases while crops are growing. However, pesticide application in a farmer’s field does not depend on the occurrence of pest just like in the lawn but rather, farmers used it in a regular basis. Farmer’s field areas are usually larger than in a grass lawn therefore, it requires additional application of pesticides compared to grass lawn. The modes of application in the grass lawn and in farmer’s field have similarity in using chemical sprayers to ensure even coverage of pesticides in an area. But then, the need for pesticide use in the grass lawn remains very minimal due to other related methods preventing pest from the lawn such as choosing a good soil and providing proper water drainage. My position regarding pesticides utilization in the farm considers greater goods for the greatest number of consumer thus; my side is on the use of pesticides both in the grass lawn and in the farm crops. Although pesticides bring out different kinds of harmful effect, consumers are still the beneficiary of its advantages. There are four different points why pesticide use in grass lawn and farmers’ field are necessary: (1) pesticides are primarily responsible for the production of quality of food and aesthetic grass lawn due to the prevention of plants and crops destruction and spread of disease-causing microorganisms; (2) the use of pesticides has helped to keep the prices of products in control by preventing destruction of majority of the crops due to pest infestation resulting to shortage both in grass lawn and farmers’ crop supply (Pimentel and Lehman, 307); (3) farmers can maximize their time and be at ease in managing grass lawn or farmers’ field; and (4) the risk involved in acquiring health-related problems due to pesticide use are lessened because not all pesticides can cause harm most especially if handled properly and moderately applied by the farmers and lawn makers. The public needs to become educated about the benefits and disadvantages of pesticide because this would allow them to generate their own opinions instead of being influenced by what they hear on television or read in the news. People who argue against the use of pesticides believe that pest elimination can be achieved without using pesticides. While this may be true in a few isolated situations, most pest management programs on the farm fields, grass lawn and other natural areas rely on a combination of nonchemical and chemical control methods. As a member of the society, I think the society’s view of pesticide use focus on the economic benefit rather than on the adverse effect. The public’s main concern about pesticides is just limitation and not total eradication of pesticides enough to prevent environmental and health hazards. Safer alternatives were recommended by consumers like using organic method (Pimentel and Lehman, 332). In addition, the existing laws in every country help protect humans and animals from the harmful effects of pesticides specifically from the regulation and implementation of retailing. However, the amount of pesticide allowed in a crop per country may not be the same as the amount allowed on the same crop in another country. Other governments suggested that increasing taxes in importing and exporting pesticides will reduce its intensity of usage (De Ferranti, Perry, Foster, Lederman &Valdes, 92). Most of the people understand the importance of pesticides and its advantages while others are somewhat against it. These people prefer to purchase organic food produced using methods that do not involve modern artificial inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers however, this kind of crop has the disadvantage of spending more money to avail of natural and healthy foods. Pesticides play only as an option by farmers to eliminate pest but still there are other methods that should be emphasize like manually pulling off weeds if the case of infestation is not severe, changing care tactics and basic biological pest control involving the use of agent like nematodes or other organism that is helpful to stop insect pest. All consumers expect that every food available in the market is safe and nutritious. But still, people have the choice to try non-chemical methods or pesticides in farmers’ field or grass lawn. Public favors the use of pesticide as long as people’s health would not be put at risk. Works Cited De Ferranti, David M., Perry, Guillermo E., Foster, William, Lederman Daniel&Valdes, Alberto. Beyond the City: The Rural Contribution to Development. The World Bank, 2005. p. 80 -95. Christians, Nick Edward&Ritchie, Ashton. Scotts Lawns: Your Guide to a Beautiful Yard. Meredith Books, 2002. p. 75 – 80. Pimentel, David & Lehman, Hugh. The Pesticide Question: Environment, Economics, and Ethics. Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc., 1993. p. 307 – 333.