Pesticides, History, and Classification

Abstract Pesticides are chemical or biological compound intended to prevent, control, destroy, repel, or attract any biological organism considered as pest. Pesticides that are nonpersistent can be broken easily on exposure to light and are considered the safest pesticides for use in food. Safety issues of pesticides are of commercial interest and need continuous evaluations. The identification of natural sources of pesticides with lesser safety issues is now encouraged. Pesticides differ from one another based on their chemicals or physicals properties. This chapter presents an introduction to pesticides, its history, uses, classifications, chemical structures, and mechanisms of actions. This chapter also documents plant chemical constituents with potentials as natural sources of pesticides.