Harmful Effects Of Pesticides

Most of us have heard or read about the enormous increase in population. Huge demands for everything; ranging from infrastructure to resources to jobs. Infrastructure; houses, offices, urbanization, industries, buildings. Resources; agricultural like crops, soil, technology, Jobs; to fulfill financial requirements.

Agriculture is one such practice whose rate has increased to fulfill the growing requirements. The basic steps involved to achieve a proper and healthy yield include Soil Preparation, Sowing, Addition of Manure and Fertilizers, Irrigation, Protection from Weeds, Harvesting, and Storing. No matter how well the steps are performed, it is very common for the crops to get spoilt. In such cases, pesticides are used to prevent the crops from being ruined by pests, fungi, rodents, insects, and sometimes even weeds.

Pesticides are made using chemicals that are poisonous to organisms, to prevent them from growing. Though using pesticides is essential, the harmful effects of using them excessively can’t be overlooked. Some harmful effects of pesticides include: -

1. Harm to Environment: Though pesticides are harmful even to the soil if used excessively, it is a fact that pesticides can even contaminate water. When rainfall occurs or when the soil is irrigated, the water can get contaminated and can enter water bodies, contaminating them.

2. Effect on crops and soil: Pesticides reduce the quality of soil as well as food. They deplete the nutritional value of the food, contaminating it.

3. Harm on Health: Pesticides contain many chemicals which are responsible for killing the organisms which harm the crop but this doesn’t mean that those chemicals don’t have any effect on our health. These chemicals are harmful, even for humans. The fruits and vegetables we eat these days have been through many types of pesticides, chemicals that enter our body, spoiling it gradually.

By: Toshani Mehra
Delhi Public School Greater Noida