The use of chemicals to control pests in not new. From the earliest days agriculturist have been beset by pests. Carvings dating back to 2300 BC in tombs in Egypt, one of the centers of plant domestication, depict locusts eating grain.
The first stage of pesticide use began more than 4,500 years ago when Sumerian used sulfur to kill insects. Other organic chemical pesticide include copper, arsenic and lead.
The Greeks and Romans also had to deal with outbreaks of insects, weeds, and plant pathogens and similarity resorted to divine intervention for assistance.
The Chinese, in about 900 AD, discovered the insecticidal properties of arsenic sulfide, a chemical compound, substance that composed of more than one element.
Until the late 1930s, pest control chemicals or pesticide were mainly limited to inorganic compound.
The emergence of DDT, a ‘miracle’ insecticide, changes the nature of pest control worldwide. The use of DDT has resulted in many advances against human diseases, such as malaria, and plant diseases, such as corn root worm.
History of pesticide
