Synthetic organic insecticides, resistance

Synthetic organic insecticides made their debut in cotton protection shortly after World War II with the introduction of chlorinated hydrocarbons such as DDT, benzene hexachloride, toxaphene, and the cyclodienes. These chemicals were so highly effective and economical to use that they had a spectacular impact on the cotton production industry (4). Insect damage was kept under control at low cost, and yields increased dramatically. Unfortunately, this euphoric era of cotton pest management did not last long because of the development of resistance among certain major cotton pests,... 

As a result of escalating costs for the development of new synthetic organic insecticides, as well as the increase of resistance and cross resistance to these synthetics and environmental concerns, real and perceptual. 

The complexity of the new insecticidal chemicals brings many other problems. Synthetic organic chemicals are not effective against all pests. There is a marked selectiveness in action even between closely related species of insects. Some insects have already developed resistance to some of the newer materials. The idea of insects developing resistance to certain chemicals is not new. The over-all principle is well established in a few cases. The early development of flies resistant to DDT, a chemical which had been highly and universally effective for fly control, came as a surprise. Other cases of resistance to DDT are being indicated, and at least one kind of mite has developed resistance against another of the newer chemicals—parathion. 

Resistance to insecticides has drawn global attention since the Korean War in 1950 when the mass use of organic synthetic insecticides, such as DDT and BHC, against agricultural pests and sanitary pests became common. Organophosphorus compounds and carbamates were used thereafter, but invited problems of safety concerns and insect resistance. Synthetic pyrethroids were watched with keen interest as alternatives and have become used widely not only for sanitary pests but also agricultural pests. The development of resistance to synthetic pyrethroids is also not a rare phenomenon and has spread all over the world. 

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