Abstract
Agrochemicals, commonly referred to as crop protection chemicals or pesticides, play a key role in controlling harmful pests that are responsible for damaging crops, thereby significantly reducing the quality and yield of crops. Agrochemicals comprise insecticides that protect crops either by killing insects or by preventing their attacks; antimicrobials that protect plants against plant pathogens such as nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and viruses; herbicides that are used to kill undesirable plants; biopesticides, which are new age crop protection products of natural origin; and other groups such as fumigants, fertilizers, soil conditioners, and plant growth regulators. In India, about 30-35% of the annual crop yield gets wasted due to pest attack; therefore, nowadays agrochemicals are being widely used for crop protection and increasing productivity. Besides the major benefits of pesticides and their role in crop production, there are many harmful effects associated with pesticides such as residues on food commodities, biomagnification and bioaccumulation, acute or chronic toxicity to humans and other nontarget organisms, and the emergence of pest resistance. The purpose of this publication is to explain the protection mechanism of different groups of pesticides, their impact, advantages and risks to human health and environment.
