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Pesticides Applied Worldwide to Combat Pests

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Abstract

A major concern in agriculture is that more than half of all food production (including food in storage) is being lost to pests despite more than 3 million tons of pesticides being utilized worldwide. Losses of this magnitude continue at a time when more than 66 % of all the human population is malnourished. Evidence suggests that pesticide use could be reduced 50–60 % without reducing crop yields or substantially reducing cosmetic standards.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported in part by the Podell Emeriti Award at Cornell University.

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Correspondence to David Pimentel .

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Pimentel, D., Burgess, M. (2014). Pesticides Applied Worldwide to Combat Pests. In: Peshin, R., Pimentel, D. (eds) Integrated Pest Management. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7802-3_1

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