REVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION OF CHEMICAL PEST CONTROL

Sa？etak Pest control on cultivated plants is as old as agricultural production. Until the mid-20th century, chemical agents were sporadically applied, and suppression was based on the use of non-chemical methods. The paper briefly presents the history of protection against harmful organisms. The revolutionary development of plant protection chemicals, which began with the development of the first plant protection chemicals (DDT, 2,4-D and others), contributed to the "green revolution" and made it possible to provide sufficient food for the growing world population. Along with the revolution of the plant protection products, the evolution of the knowledge about their toxicity and adverse effect on humans, the environment and non-target organisms is presented in the paper. Groups of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides that have evolved over time and have been marketed as a replacement are shown. Looking over the long term, the evolution of the chemical method of plant protection is reflected in several specific changes that include: (i) reduced application doses, (ii) more environmental studies in the registration process, (iii) reduced toxicity and improved biodegradability (iv) increased demand for seed treatments and (v) more social impact studies