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Roundup
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Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide
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Roundup

herbicide

Learn about this topic in these articles:

Monsanto

  • In Monsanto

    …claiming that its weed killer Roundup, which contained glyphosate, caused cancer. Against this backdrop, in 2016 Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, announced that it was purchasing Monsanto in a deal valued at more than \$60 billion. In 2018 the acquisition was finalized, and shortly thereafter the first Roundup…

    Read More

weed control

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pesticide
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crop duster
A codling moth larvae is pictured on a leaf.
Figure 9: Low-volume spraying of pesticide on a field of corn. Farm machinery spraying pesticides on a crop. pesticide
The future of strawberries: Can we save them from pests?
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Beet. Beta vulgaris. Sugar beet. Two rows of harvested beets.
18 Questions About Farming Answered
Rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) photographed in the Midwest in 2017. endangered species insect pollination
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What If the President Is Impeached?
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pesticide

chemical product
Also known as: chemical pest control
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News •

New to the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list: Blackberries and potatoes • June 11, 2025, 6:47 AM ET (CNN)
‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects • June 4, 2025, 12:57 AM ET (The Guardian)
Toxic pesticide levels found in tampons 40 times higher than legal limit for water • May 28, 2025, 4:35 AM ET (The Guardian)

pesticide, any toxic substance used to kill animals, fungi, or plants that cause economic damage to crop or ornamental plants or are hazardous to the health of domestic animals or humans. All pesticides interfere with normal metabolic processes in the pest organism and often are classified according to the type of organism they are intended to control. (See herbicide; insecticide; fungicide; fumigant.)

A codling moth larvae is pictured on a leaf.
Solving the problem of wormy apples with pheromonesCodling moths may look harmless, but their larvae wreak havoc.
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The use of certain pesticides is controversial. The insecticide DDT, for example, which came into wide use in the 1940s, was later heavily restricted in the United States and elsewhere because of its adverse affects on the health of the environment, wildlife, and humans. In the early 21st century the use of neonicotinoids was highly restricted in some countries, including throughout the entire European Union, because of the possible involvement of those insecticides in the decline of honeybee populations.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Meg Matthias.
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