ABSTRACT
General Worldwide pesticide usage has increased tremendously since the 1960s. It has largely been responsible for the “green revolution”, i.e. the massive increase in food production obtained from the same surface of land with the help of mineral fertilisers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), more efficient machinery and intensive irrigation. The use of pesticides helped to significantly reduce crop losses and to improve the yield of crops such as corn, maize, vegetables, potatoes and cotton. Notwithstanding the beneficial effects of pesticides, their adverse effects on environmental quality and human health have been well documented worldwide and constitute a major issue that gives rise to concerns at local, regional, national and global scales (Planas et al., 1997; Huber et al., 2000; Kidd et al., 2001; Ntow, 2001; Cerejeira et al., 2003). Residues of pesticides contaminate soils and water, persist in the crops, enter the food chain, and finally are ingested by humans with foodstuffs and water. Furthermore, pesticides can be held responsible for contributing to biodiversity losses and deterioration of natural habitats (Sattler et al., 2006). There have been reported instances of pest resurgence, development of resistance to pesticides, secondary pest outbreaks and destruction of non-target species. Despite the fact that pesticides are also applied in other sectors, agriculture can undoubtedly be seen as the most important source of adverse effects (Hoyer and Kratz, 2001; cited in Sattler et al., 2006).
