ABSTRACT
In this review, the synthesis of 30 agrochemicals that received an international standardization organization (ISO) name during the last five years (January 2010 to December 2014) is described. The aim is to showcase the range and scope of chemistries used to discover or produce the latest active ingredients addressing the crop protection industry's needs.
Subject(s)
Agrochemicals/chemical synthesis , Antinematodal Agents/chemical synthesis , Fungicides, Industrial/chemical synthesis , Herbicides/chemical synthesis , Insecticides/chemical synthesis , Agrochemicals/history , Agrochemicals/standards , Antinematodal Agents/history , Antinematodal Agents/standards , Fungicides, Industrial/history , Fungicides, Industrial/standards , Herbicides/history , Herbicides/standards , History, 21st Century , Humans , Insecticides/history , Insecticides/standardsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pesticide-environment interactions are bidirectional. The environment alters pesticides by metabolism and photodegradation, and pesticides in turn change the environment through nontarget or secondary effects. OBJECTIVES: Approximately 900 currently used commercial pesticides of widely diverse structures act by nearly a hundred mechanisms to control insects, weeds, and fungi, usually with minimal disruption of nature's equilibrium. Here I consider some aspects of the discovery, development, and use of ecofriendly or green pesticides (i.e., pesticides that are safe, effective, and biodegradable with minimal adverse secondary effects on the environment). Emphasis is given to research in my laboratory. DISCUSSION: The need for understanding and improving pesticide-environment interactions began with production of the first major insecticide approximately 150 years ago: The arsenical poison Paris Green was green in color but definitely not ecofriendly. Development and use of other pesticides has led to a variety of problems. Topics considered here include the need for high purity [e.g., hexachlorocyclohexane and polychloroborane isomers and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T)], environmental degradation and the bioactivity of resulting photoproducts and metabolites, pesticide photochemistry (including the use of structural optimization, photostabilizers, and photosensitizers to achieve suitable persistence), the presence of multiple active ingredients in botanical insecticides, the need to consider compounds with common mechanisms of action, issues related to primary and secondary targets, and chemically induced or genetically modified changes in plant biochemistry. Many insecticides are bird, fish, and honeybee toxicants, whereas herbicides and fungicides pose fewer environmental problems. CONCLUSION: Six factors have contributed to the greening of pesticide-environment interactions: advances in pesticide chemistry and toxicology, banning of many chlorinated hydrocarbons, the development of new biochemical targets, increased reliance on genetically modified crops that reduce the amount and variety of pesticides applied, emphasis on biodegradability and environmental protection, and integrated pest- and pesticide-management systems.
Subject(s)
Environment , Pesticides/history , Pesticides/pharmacology , Animals , Ecotoxicology , Environmental Policy , Fungi/drug effects , Fungicides, Industrial/chemistry , Fungicides, Industrial/history , Fungicides, Industrial/pharmacology , Fungicides, Industrial/toxicity , Government Regulation , Herbicides/chemistry , Herbicides/history , Herbicides/pharmacology , Herbicides/toxicity , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Insecta/drug effects , Insecticides/chemistry , Insecticides/history , Insecticides/pharmacology , Insecticides/toxicity , Pesticides/chemistry , Pesticides/toxicity , Plants/drug effects , Plants, Genetically Modified , Species Specificity , Vertebrates/metabolismABSTRACT
This retrospective review deals with the sequence of events and research progress on control of stripe rust of wheat and barley in North America. From the discovery of stripe rust in 1915, it documents the early years of stripe rust research, the 20-year hiatus when stripe rust was not considered important and research was almost nonexistent, the short period in the 1950s when stripe rust became prevalent in the central United States, and the severe epidemics in the West in the 1960s and the associated revival and expansion of research. Finally, it covers 1968 to 2001 when the earlier information was consolidated and combined with results of new research to enable prediction and control of stripe rust, especially in the West.
Subject(s)
Basidiomycota/isolation & purification , Hordeum/history , Plant Diseases/history , Triticum/history , Basidiomycota/classification , Basidiomycota/genetics , Fungicides, Industrial/history , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Hordeum/genetics , Hordeum/microbiology , Immunity, Innate/genetics , North America , Plant Diseases/microbiology , Plant Diseases/statistics & numerical data , Spores/growth & development , Triticum/genetics , Triticum/microbiologyABSTRACT
The hair samples of Japanese females during the period from 1881 to 1968 were obtained from various localities of the central area of Japan. Inorganic mercury levels were elevated in unwashed hair samples from prewar periods, especially during 1920s , while elevation of organic mercury levels was conspicuous during 1960s. The increase of inorganic mercury levels in samples from the 1920s is suspected to be due to mercury contamination of hair cosmetics, and increased organic mercury levels in the hair from the 1960s can be explained by active fish consumption.