The pesticide should cause effect on the target pests and be selective enough to spare the non-target beneficial. The book deals with the pesticide toxicity to predators, parasitoids and microbes which are used for pest management in the agroecosystem. The other beneficials exposed to pesticides are pollinators, earthworms, silkworm and fishes. The book contains information on the modes of pesticide exposure and toxicity to the organisms, sub-lethal effects of insecticides and method of toxicity assessment, risk assessment of pesticidal application in the field. The purpose of the work is to compile and present the different procedures to assess pesticide poising in organisms related to the agroecosystem along with discussions on risk assessment procedures with clear comparison of toxicity of pesticides to target pests and non target beneficial organisms.

Pesticide usage is increasing worldwide and considered among the main factors contributing to the global decline in biodiversity. This Research Topic provides an overview of the state-of-knowledge regarding non-target effects of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and rodenticides on a variety of ecosystem functions and organisms. Taxa covered in the contributions include algae, amphibians, aquatic fungi, aquatic insects, bats, bumblebees, butterflies, earthworms, enchytraeids, honeybees, plants, rodents and soil microorganisms. The papers also highlight many gaps in our understanding of non-target effects of pesticides and their consequences for biodiversity and functions of various ecosystems. Overall, it became clear that priorities for future work on pesticides and their effects should more focus on investigating or simulating realistic field situations, i.e., multiple applications of pesticides during the growing season including their temporal and spatial interactions with fauna and flora.

That residues of pesticide and other "foreign" chemicals in food stuffs are of concern to everyone everywhere is amply attested by the reception accorded previous volumes of "Residue Reviews" and by the gratifying enthusiasm, sincerity, and efforts shown by all the in dividuals from whom manuscripts have been solicited. Despite much propaganda to the contrary, there can never be any serious question that pest-control chemicals and food-additive chemicals are essential to adequate food production, manufacture, marketing, and storage, yet without continuing surveillance and intelligent control some of those that persist in our foodstuffs could at times conceivably endanger the public health. Ensuring safety-in-use of these many chemicals is a dynamic challenge, for established ones are continually being dis placed by newly developed ones more acceptable to food technologists, pharmacologists, taxicologists, and changing pest-control requirements in progressive food-producing economies. These matters are of genuine concern to increasing numbers of governmental agencies and legislative bodies around the world, for some of these chemicals have resulted in a few mishaps from improper use. Adequate safety-in-use evaluations of any of these chemicals per sisting into our foodstuffs are not simple matters, and they incorporate the considered judgments of many individuals highly trained in a variety of complex biological, chemical, food technological, medical, pharmacological, and toxicological disciplines.

Introduction, general conclusions and recommendations. Methods to assess exposure to pesticides: data acquisition and monitoring techniques. Methods to assess toxic effects of pesticides in humans. Methods to assess toxic effects on ecosystems. Management technologies: integrated pest management. Methods to evaluate exposures to pesticides. Role of evaluative models to assess exposure to pesticides. Exposure assessment models: accuracy and validity. Assessment of acute toxicity of pesticides on humans. Assessment of chronic effects of pesticides on humans. Ecological effects of pesticides on non-target species in terrestrial ecosystems. Methods to assess toxicity to aquatic systems in functional ecosystems. Methods to assess adverse effects on plants. Methods to evaluate adverse consequences of genetic changes caused by pesticides. Methods to anticipate effects of biotechnology on integrated pest management.

Emerging Contaminants presents the reader with information on classification, recent studies, and adverse effects on the environment and human health of the main classes of contaminants. Emerging contaminants are synthetic or natural compounds and microorganisms produced and used by humans that cause adverse ecological and human health effects when they reach the environment. This book is organized into four sections that cover the classification of contaminants and the instrumental techniques used to quantify them, recent studies on pesticides, antibiotics as an important group of emerging contaminants, and studies of different classes of emerging contaminants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), microplastics, and others.

Environmental-friendliness, issues of public health, and the pros and cons of genetically-modified crops all receive regular coverage in the world's media. This, in turn, has led to increased questioning and investigation of chemical pesticides. Stenersen's concise and timely introduction to chemical pesticides describes these compounds according to their mode of action at the cellular and biochemical level. Chemical Pesticides provides answers to questions such as why pesticides are toxic to the target organism and why pesticides are toxic to some organisms and not others. It describes how various poisons interfere with biochemical processes in organisms. The book also explores how resistance to pesticides develops, how resistance can be used to illustrate the theory of evolution, and how it can be used to produce herbicide-resistant crop plants. Legal matters and potential environmental problems are also discussed. By providing an integrated, yet simple description of modern chemical pesticides, the author provides a relevant text for professionals and students in biological disciplines such as biochemistry, medicine, agriculture, and veterinary science.