Soil insect pest control, example

The tremendous achievements which have been accomplished by the judicious use of pesticides in increased world-wide food production and the control of vector-bome diseases are very evident. In addition, pesticidal materials contribute to the effective control of undesirable species of pests including insects, plants, bacteria, fungi, etc., and assist in the nutrition, growth, and reproduction of certain desirable species. However, because of widespread use in these applications, pesticides have proliferated intensely in the biosphere and thus have significantly contributed to problems of environmental pollution. For example, the effects of these chemicals on public health and the survival of species of fish and wildlife are two specific areas of critical concern. The attention which has been focused in recent years on the occiurence of residues of pesticides and their metabohtes, as well as other industrially significant chemicals in the environment, is demonstrated by the numerous reports of various official and unofficial committees of inquiry which have considered this problem and have reported the results of large numbers of assays of pesticide residues in such diverse substrates as human and animal tissues, food, plants, water, soil, and air. 

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