Contents


Preface

Throughout human history, pest control has been continually associated with man-made activities and it has undoubtedly played a role in protecting crops. For two thousand years, several kinds of pesticides have been used, not only by farmers but also by others, to control pests, weeds, and diseases. It is well known that the ancient Egyptians employed compounds containing alkaloids, including, among others, hemlock, aconite, and opium, to control pests, which were adopted as great favorites of the Greeks and Romans for use as poisons employed in medicine, rituals, and even war. During the industrial revolution, significant advances in the manufacture of synthetic chemicals were developed. Some chemicals employed during World Wars I and II accelerated the development of the modern chemical industry. Synthetic chemicals and technologies originally employed for warfare were then modified and improved for several civilian uses. In 1939, the Swiss chemist Paul Müller designed the insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, which was manufactured to eliminate unwanted insects. However, it is also known that the insecticide was definitively banned in 1972 due to its severe toxicity. German researchers in 1943 developed organophosphate compounds, such as parathion, with insecticide properties, which are still in use today despite their high and persistent toxicity. Presently, international and national government agencies and administrations regulate the manufacture and use of pesticides, which are developed to persist in the environment for shorter periods and be less toxic for nontarget organisms to reduce environmental risk as a consequence

Widespread pesticide use continues to be indispensable for maintaining sustainable agriculture, the control of pest-borne diseases, and the health of human populations and ecological systems, among other uses. Consequently, pesticides are repeatedly introduced throughout the environment and they make a great contribution to the pollution of the environment since the global distribution is the manner

Although a vast literature is available on pesticides, this book contains relevant information on diverse pesticides encountered in both anthropogenic and natural environments and provides valuable information on the toxicity of several agrochemicals that can negatively influence the health of humans and ecosystems.

The book begins with a chapter presenting an approach of several biomarkers employed for determining pesticide pollution. Different aspects have been deeply analyzed throughout the chapter, including the influence of diverse pesticides on the spore germination process and the differentiation of their gametophyte on ferns; the impact of some pesticides on fish breathing at physiological, histopathological, and tissue levels; as well as the toxicological pattern at hematological, biochemical, and structural parameters in amphibians. The second chapter is focused on the *omics* analytical methodologies as efficient current tools for evaluating the final biological response exerted by several environmental pollutants, e.g. chemical mixtures. The third chapter provides information on how several processes, namely leaching, diffusion, volatilization, erosion and run-off, assimilation by

of their use as pest control.

they are employed.
