Since Rachel Carson's, Silent Spring, there has been a significant outcry among environmentalist regarding pesticide use.
Pesticides scare many people.
The term pesticides covers herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. Herbicides and insectisides are the most commonly used of the two on annual crops. Herbicides are used to control competitive weeds. Cultivators and other tillage practices fight weeds mechanically, but they promote soil erosion. If soil conservation is desired, the only other real alternative is the use of herbicides.