Fertilizers and Pesticides

Fertilizers and pesticides are used largely to fulfill the food needs of the growing population of the world.

Fertilizers

Fertilizers are used to increase the production capacity of the land. They help plants in getting proper nutrition and high yield. Fertilizers improve the following elements in plants.

1. Nitrogen - nitrogen is useful for development in pants and protein synthesis. This dissolves in water and reaches plants after getting absorbed in roots by water.

2. Phosphorus - this is essential for development of roots of plants. We get it from phosphorous mountains.

3. Potassium - this element is important for the production of fruits on plants. This is used as potassium sulphate. Water soluble 'super phospate' and 'triple super phospate' are obtained by grinding mountains and its reaction with sulphuric acid.

Regular use of chemical fertilizers is harmful for nature. This increases pollution and affects the fertility of the soil. It is also harmful for human health. This is the reason behind the increasing use of fertilizers like compost, vermin compost, etc.

Pesticides

Pesticides are those elements which stop the growth of unwanted plants and organisms. These unwanted plants and organisms are harmful for both plants and humans. Pesticides are of many kinds and can be divided into many categories. These categories are made on the basis of how the bacterial growth is stopped by them.

Bacteria pesticides, fungicide, weed cutting, insecticides and weed pesticides. These pesticides protect humans and plants from many diseases and benefit their health.

Pesticides have been used around 2000 years ago. Arsenic and its compound were used as pesticides for the first time, they were used till the mid of last century. Some carbonic pesticides were discovered during World War II. There were more effective than a carbonic pesticide like arsenic. This can stop insect development from a small amount and they are less harmful from other organisms and plants.

D.D.T. was invented in 1939. It was used massively in Second World War to stop the growth of mosquitoes responsible for spreading malaria. They were so affected by that that the use of D.D.T. increased day by day.

Slowly and gradually insects and mosquitoes became resistant to D.D.T. and they did not show any effect. This was also said that D.D.T. remains in soil for many years and does not get decomposed. It reaches food chain and is harmful for other organisms and humans. After this information, some countries banned D.D.T.