Editing Pesticide (section)

==Definition==
{| class="wikitable floatright" style = "text-align:center"
|-
!Type of pesticide
!Target pest group
|-		
| [[Algicide]]s or [[algaecide]]s || [[Algae]]
|-
| [[Avicide]]s || [[Bird]]s
|-	
| [[Bactericide]]s || [[Bacteria]]
|-	
| [[Fungicide]]s || [[Fungus|Fungi]] and [[oomycete]]s
|-
| [[Herbicide]]s || [[Plant]]
|-	
| [[Insecticide]]s || [[Insect]]s
|-	
| [[Lampricide]]s || [[Lamprey]]s<ref name="Dunlop-et-al-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Dunlop |first1=Erin S. |last2=McLaughlin |first2=Rob |last3=Adams |first3=Jean V. |last4=Jones |first4=Michael |last5=Birceanu |first5=Oana |last6=Christie |first6=Mark R. |last7=Criger |first7=Lori A. |last8=Hinderer |first8=Julia L.M. |last9=Hollingworth |first9=Robert M. |last10=Johnson |first10=Nicholas S. |last11=Lantz |first11=Stephen R. |last12=Li |first12=Weiming |last13=Miller |first13=James |last14=Morrison |first14=Bruce J. |last15=Mota-Sanchez |first15=David |year=2018 |title=Rapid evolution meets invasive species control: the potential for pesticide resistance in sea lamprey |journal=[[Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences]] |publisher=[[National Research Council Canada]] |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=152–168 |doi=10.1139/cjfas-2017-0015 |issn=0706-652X |hdl-access=free |last16=Muir |first16=Andrew |last17=Sepúlveda |first17=Maria S. |last18=Steeves |first18=Todd |last19=Walter |first19=Lisa |last20=Westman |first20=Erin |last21=Wirgin |first21=Isaac |last22=Wilkie |first22=Michael P. |bibcode=2018CJFAS..75..152D |hdl=1807/78674}}</ref>
|-	
| [[Miticide]]s or [[acaricide]]s || [[Mite]]s
|-	
| [[Molluscicide]]s || [[Snail]]s
|-	
| [[Nematicide]]s || [[Nematode]]s
|-
| [[Rodenticide]]s || [[Rodent]]s
|-
| [[Slimicide]]s || [[Algae]], [[Bacteria]], [[Fungi]], and [[Slime mold]]s
|-
| [[Virucide]]s || [[Virus]]es
|}

The word pesticide derives from the Latin ''pestis'' (plague) and ''caedere'' (kill).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sykes |first=J. B. |title=The Concise Oxford dictionary of current english |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-19-861131-8 |oclc=848516593 |edition=7th}}</ref>

The [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO) has defined ''pesticide'' as:
: any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals, causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the production, processing, storage, transport, or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products or animal feedstuffs, or substances that may be administered to animals for the control of insects, arachnids, or other pests in or on their bodies. The term includes substances intended for use as a plant growth regulator, defoliant, desiccant, or agent for thinning fruit or preventing the premature fall of fruit. Also used as substances applied to crops either before or after harvest to protect the commodity from deterioration during storage and transport.<ref name=code />

=== Classifications ===
Pesticides can be classified by target [[organism]] (e.g., [[herbicide]]s, [[insecticide]]s, [[fungicide]]s, [[rodenticide]]s, and [[pediculicide]]s – see table),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Types of pesticides |url=http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/index.html |access-date=January 4, 2024 |website=National Pesticide Information Center}}</ref>

[[Biopesticide]]s according to the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] include microbial pesticides, biochemical pesticides, and plant-incorporated protectants.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |url=https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/types-pesticide-ingredients |title=Types of Pesticide Ingredients |date=Jan 3, 2017 |website=US Environmental Protection Agency |language=en |access-date=Dec 1, 2018}}</ref>

Pesticides can be classified into structural classes, with many structural classes developed for each of the target organisms listed in the table. A structural class is usually associated with a single [[mode of action]], whereas a mode of action may encompass more than one structural class.

The pesticidal chemical ([[active ingredient]]) is mixed ([[Pesticide formulation|formulated]]) with other components to form the product that is sold, and which is [[Pesticide application|applied]] in various ways. Pesticides in gas form are [[Fumigation|fumigants]].

Pesticides can be classified based upon their [[mode of action]], which indicates the exact biological mechanism which the pesticide disrupts. The modes of action are important for [[Pesticide resistance|resistance]] management, and are categorized and administered by the [[Insecticide Resistance Action Committee|insecticide]], [[Herbicide Resistance Action Committee|herbicide]], and [[Fungicide Resistance Action Committee|fungicide]] resistance action committees.

Pesticides may be systemic or non-systemic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Yu |last2=Lorsbach |first2=Beth A. |last3=Castetter |first3=Scott |last4=Lambert |first4=William T. |last5=Kister |first5=Jeremy |last6=Wang |first6=Nick X. |last7=Klittich |first7=Carla J. R. |last8=Roth |first8=Joshua |last9=Sparks |first9=Thomas C. |last10=Loso |first10=Mike R. |date=2018 |title=Physicochemical property guidelines for modern agrochemicals |doi=10.1002/ps.5037 |journal=Pest Management Science |volume=74 |issue=9 |pages=1979–1991|pmid=29667318 |s2cid=4937939 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hofstetter |first=Sandro |date=2018 |title=How To Design for a Tailored Subcellular Distribution of Systemic Agrochemicals in Plant Tissues |doi=10.1021/acs.jafc.8b02221 |journal=J. Agric. Food Chem. |volume=66 |issue=33 |pages=8687–8697|pmid=30024749 |bibcode=2018JAFC...66.8687H |s2cid=261974999 |url=https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/167227061/Rev_Hofstetter_et_al_intracellular_localization_of_agrochemicals.pdf }}</ref> A systemic pesticide moves (translocates) inside the plant. Translocation may be upward in the [[xylem]], or downward in the [[phloem]] or both. Non-systemic pesticides (contact pesticides) remain on the surface and act through direct contact with the target organism. Pesticides are more effective if they are systemic. Systemicity is a prerequisite for the pesticide to be used as a seed-treatment.

Pesticides can be classified as [[Persistent organic pollutant|persistent]] (non-biodegradable) or non-persistent ([[Biodegradation|biodegradable]]). A pesticide must be persistent enough to kill or control its target but must degrade fast enough not to accumulate in the [[Environmental impact of pesticides|environment]] or the [[Biomagnification|food chain]] in order to be approved by the authorities.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> Persistent pesticides, including [[DDT]], were [[Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants|banned many years ago]], an exception being spraying in houses to combat [[malaria]] [[Vector control|vectors]].<ref name=":9">{{cite web |date=September 16, 2006 |title=WHO urges DDT for malaria control Strategies |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0916-05.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017195527/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0916-05.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2006 |access-date=September 15, 2007 |website=Common Dreams News Center |publisher=Inter Press Service |vauthors=Lobe J}}</ref>