thumb|The [[Passaic Agricultural Chemical Works in Newark, New Jersey, 1876]]

An agrochemical or agrichemical, a contraction of agricultural chemical, is a chemical product used in conventional or industrial agriculture. Agrochemical typically refers to pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. The term agrochemical is sometimes used informally synonymously with pesticides, sometimes also informally to mean pesticides and fertilizers, and sometimes more correctly to include all chemicals used in agriculture. Other chemicals used in agriculture are plant hormones and plant growth regulators (PGRs), insect attractants, insect repellents, plant defense inducers, herbicide safeners, adjuvents and co-formulants, soil conditioners and soil amendments, liming and acidifying agents. For livestock feed additives, animal growth regulators, anthelmintics and other antiparasitics are used.

Manufacture

Pesticides and fertilizers are manufactured differently. Nitrogen fertilizers are made from ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) produced by the Haber–Bosch process. Potassium and phosphate fertilizers are made from minerals. Most pesticides are made indirectly from petrochemicals, some are made biologically.

Market and amounts used

Total pesticides use in agriculture in 2021 was 3.54 million tonnes of active ingredients.user. In 2018 world pesticide sales were estimated to be $65 billion, of which 88% was used for agriculture. ChemChina (with subsidiaries Syngenta and Adama), Bayer Crop Science, BASF and Corteva Agriscience together represented about 60 per cent of the agricultural pesticide market in 2018. Global sales revenues for inorganic fertilizers in 2018 were reported to be about US$151 billion.

Inorganic pesticides were used thousands of years ago in Sumeria and China. The manufacture of organic chemical pesticides started in the middle of the 20th century. The majority of pesticides were developed in the late 20th century, and their use expanded greatly during the Green Revolution.

Application process

Agrochemicals can be applied in several ways. Conventional application methods include foliar sprays, and root drenches, broadcasting of granules, and seed coating.

Ecological toxicity

Agrochemicals, especially when improperly used or released in local environments, have led to a number of public health and environmental issues. vertical farming , tillage, polyculture, permaculture, intercropping, regenerative agriculture, organopónicos, hydroponics, nutrient cycling, shifting cultivation, crop rotation, soil steaming, biofumigation, precision agriculture, companion planting, mixed cropping, composting, biological pest control, integrated farming, integrated pest management, mulching, biointensive agriculture, natural farming, plant breeding, genetically modified crops, precision agriculture.

See also

  • Index of pesticide articles
  • Agricultural chemistry
  • Ecocide
  • Eutrophication
  • National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
  • Nutrient pollution

References