Insecticides (Latin insecta = insect, caedere = to kill) are chemical or biological agents. They belong to the group of pesticides. The agents used in agriculture and forestry, including viticulture, are used in plant protection to kill, expel or inhibit insects and their developmental stages (eggs, worms). Insecticides act as contact, feeding or respiratory poisons on insects. Insects as pests in viticulture were already combated in ancient times because, unlike micro-organisms, they were visible as enemies of the vine.
Many biblical texts and wall paintings found during archaeological excavations report on plagues of locusts in Egypt in particular. The Greeks and Romans fought insects with sulphur mixed with oil and Pliny the Elder (23-79) wrote about the use of arsenic. Marco Polo (1254-1324) also reported the same in China. From the middle of the 18th century, salts of lead, iron and mercury were increasingly used.
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