ABSTRACT
The annual increase in the human population in the world increases by 1.1%. Currently, every one person out of seven remains hungry. To reduce this hunger and meet the demand for increased food production, pesticides are being used by agriculturists who are losing 20–40% of food production to pests, weeds, and diseases every year. These pesticides enable farmers to increase the quality and quantity of food. One of such pesticides regularly used throughout the globe is chlorpyrifos (CPF). CPF belongs to the class of organophosphates, chemically known as O, O-diethyl-O-3,5,6-trichlor-2-pyridyl is a large spectrum pesticide used commercially in the control of subterranean termites and foliar insects affecting agricultural crops. Following its application to crops, it finds its way to water surfaces where it adversely affects the aquatic biota. It enters into the body of organisms and causes inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), oxidative stress, and hormonal imbalance and thus affects growth, reproduction, and neural behavior of aquatic organisms, when present in a sub-lethal concentration in water. In the present chapter, environmental distribution, degradation and transformation, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity of CPF is discussed. Moreover, its effect on the behavior of different biological systems is also assessed.
