Recall information given in previous lesson.

Pesticide Alternatives

The disadvantages of widespread pesticide use have led us to look for alternatives. Take a look at these five pesticide alternatives.

Cultivation practices

This alternative uses special methods of crop production that "fake out" the pests. One example would be to grow crops in different parts of the field each year, so pests don't have time to settle in.

Biological control

The biological control alternative relies on importing a pest's natural predators to an area. An example of this is using ladybugs to control aphids. Many home gardeners can release lady bugs into their garden, and the ladybugs will hunt down and eat harmful aphids. Another good example is the use a bacteria or virus that naturally kills an insect pest but does not affect other organisms.

Genetic resistance

This alternative is based on gardeners' understanding the genetic resistance of some plants. They take genes from the resistant plants and breed new plants that have the same resistance. In this way, pests will still be around, but they will not harm crops as much.

Cultural control

The cultural practice alternative includes things like keeping your home clean and keeping garbage bagged up to avoid pests like roaches and mice. It also includes practices like trapping or hand-picking and squishing pests instead of spraying them with a pesticide.

Natrual Chemicals

There are several natural chemicals that exist that also may be used for pest control that are not toxic chemicals. Some examples include balsam fir oil approved by the EPA as a non-toxic rodent repellant or Acacia polyacentha, which is a root that emits chemical compounds that repel animals including crocodiles, snakes, and rats. Others are home remedies, such as chilli and garlic spray for caterpillars in fruit trees, or using plain soap in hot water for aphids.

Assignment Directions:

Place each of the following phrases into the correct column within the table.

Phrases

growing crops in places where major pests don't live

using beneficial insects to eat harmful insects

using a rat trap instead of a rodenticide

developing drought-resistant tomato plants

Using beneficial insects or natural oils to repel pests

planting a different crop every year to fake out the pests

keeping food covered to deter ants and rodents

developing bean plants with a resistance to fungus

picking caterpillars off tomato plants

Cultivation Practice Biological Control Cultural Control Genetic Resistance Natural Chemicals

Assignment Guidelines:

All phrases are used only once.

Submission Requirements:

Submit a completed table.

When submitting written assignments, please remember to:

Submit the assignment question(s) and your responses.

Proofread for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Remember complete sentence structure.

Paragraphs need to have minimum of six sentences.

PLEASE HELP ASAP