romikgosai/squad_modified_2 huggingface dataset:
In general, a pesticide is a chemical or biological agent (such as a virus, bacterium, antimicrobial, or disinfectant) that deters, incapacitates, kills, or otherwise discourages pests. Target pests can include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, mollusks, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms), and microbes that destroy property, cause nuisance, or spread disease, or are disease vectors. Although pesticides have benefits, some also have drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other species. According to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 9 of the 12 most dangerous and persistent organic chemicals are organochlorine pesticides.

Q1: What are three pests pesticides target?
A1: plant pathogens, weeds, mollusks
Q2: Are pesticides chemical or biological agents?
A2: a pesticide is a chemical or biological agent
Q3: What are possible cons of pesticides?
A3: potential toxicity to humans and other species
Q4: What are pesticides meant to prevent?
A4: destroy property, cause nuisance, or spread disease, or are disease vectors
Pesticides can be classified by target organism (e.g., herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, and pediculicides - see table), chemical structure (e.g., organic, inorganic, synthetic, or biological (biopesticide), although the distinction can sometimes blur), and physical state (e.g. gaseous (fumigant)). Biopesticides include microbial pesticides and biochemical pesticides. Plant-derived pesticides, or "botanicals", have been developing quickly. These include the pyrethroids, rotenoids, nicotinoids, and a fourth group that includes strychnine and scilliroside.:15

Q1: What is one way to group pesticides?
A1: chemical structure
Q2: Give three examples of target organisms of pesticides.
A2: herbicides, insecticides, fungicides
Q3: What are the two types of biopesticides?
A3: microbial pesticides and biochemical pesticides
Q4: Which type of pesticides have seen rapid growth in development?
A4: Plant-derived pesticides, or "botanicals
Many pesticides can be grouped into chemical families. Prominent insecticide families include organochlorines, organophosphates, and carbamates. Organochlorine hydrocarbons (e.g., DDT) could be separated into dichlorodiphenylethanes, cyclodiene compounds, and other related compounds. They operate by disrupting the sodium/potassium balance of the nerve fiber, forcing the nerve to transmit continuously. Their toxicities vary greatly, but they have been phased out because of their persistence and potential to bioaccumulate.:239–240 Organophosphate and carbamates largely replaced organochlorines. Both operate through inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, allowing acetylcholine to transfer nerve impulses indefinitely and causing a variety of symptoms such as weakness or paralysis. Organophosphates are quite toxic to vertebrates, and have in some cases been replaced by less toxic carbamates.:136–137 Thiocarbamate and dithiocarbamates are subclasses of carbamates. Prominent families of herbicides include phenoxy and benzoic acid herbicides (e.g. 2,4-D), triazines (e.g., atrazine), ureas (e.g., diuron), and Chloroacetanilides (e.g., alachlor). Phenoxy compounds tend to selectively kill broad-leaf weeds rather than grasses. The phenoxy and benzoic acid herbicides function similar to plant growth hormones, and grow cells without normal cell division, crushing the plant's nutrient transport system.:300 Triazines interfere with photosynthesis.:335 Many commonly used pesticides are not included in these families, including glyphosate.

Q1: Organochlorine hydrocarbons effect what balance of the nerve fiber?
A1: sodium/potassium
Q2: Why was the use of organochlorine hydrocarbons ended?
A2: because of their persistence and potential to bioaccumulate
Q3: What type of herbicide selectively kills broad leef weeds?
A3: Phenoxy compounds
Q4: What essential plan funtion is interrupted by triazines?
A4: photosynthesis
Q5: Organophospates and carbamates cause which symptoms?
A5: weakness or paralysis
Pesticides can be classified based upon their biological mechanism function or application method. Most pesticides work by poisoning pests. A systemic pesticide moves inside a plant following absorption by the plant. With insecticides and most fungicides, this movement is usually upward (through the xylem) and outward. Increased efficiency may be a result. Systemic insecticides, which poison pollen and nectar in the flowers[citation needed], may kill bees and other needed pollinators[citation needed].

Q1: What is one way you could group pesticides?
A1: application method
Q2: What is the main way that peticides perform their function?
A2: by poisoning pests
Q3: In which direction do systemic pesticide generally travel through a plant?
A3: movement is usually upward
Q4: Which parts of a plant do systemic pesticides generally attack?
A4: pollen and nectar in the flowers
Pesticides are used to control organisms that are considered to be harmful. For example, they are used to kill mosquitoes that can transmit potentially deadly diseases like West Nile virus, yellow fever, and malaria. They can also kill bees, wasps or ants that can cause allergic reactions. Insecticides can protect animals from illnesses that can be caused by parasites such as fleas. Pesticides can prevent sickness in humans that could be caused by moldy food or diseased produce. Herbicides can be used to clear roadside weeds, trees and brush. They can also kill invasive weeds that may cause environmental damage. Herbicides are commonly applied in ponds and lakes to control algae and plants such as water grasses that can interfere with activities like swimming and fishing and cause the water to look or smell unpleasant. Uncontrolled pests such as termites and mold can damage structures such as houses. Pesticides are used in grocery stores and food storage facilities to manage rodents and insects that infest food such as grain. Each use of a pesticide carries some associated risk. Proper pesticide use decreases these associated risks to a level deemed acceptable by pesticide regulatory agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Canada.

Q1: Pesticides can be used to stop the spread of what dieseases?
A1: West Nile virus, yellow fever, and malaria
Q2: What sort of pesticides would you find in ponds and lakes?
A2: Herbicides
Q3: Which agency regulates safety of pesticides in the US?
A3: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Q4: Which agency regulates safety of pesticides in Canada?
A4: Pest Management Regulatory Agency
DDT, sprayed on the walls of houses, is an organochlorine that has been used to fight malaria since the 1950s. Recent policy statements by the World Health Organization have given stronger support to this approach. However, DDT and other organochlorine pesticides have been banned in most countries worldwide because of their persistence in the environment and human toxicity. DDT use is not always effective, as resistance to DDT was identified in Africa as early as 1955, and by 1972 nineteen species of mosquito worldwide were resistant to DDT.

Q1: What kind of pesticide is DDT?
A1: an organochlorine
Q2: Why have DDTs been banned in some areas?
A2: persistence in the environment and human toxicity
Q3: Is DDT 100% guaranteed to work?
A3: DDT use is not always effective
Q4: How may species have been found to be resistant to DDT?
A4: nineteen
In 2006 and 2007, the world used approximately 2.4 megatonnes (5.3×109 lb) of pesticides, with herbicides constituting the biggest part of the world pesticide use at 40%, followed by insecticides (17%) and fungicides (10%). In 2006 and 2007 the U.S. used approximately 0.5 megatonnes (1.1×109 lb) of pesticides, accounting for 22% of the world total, including 857 million pounds (389 kt) of conventional pesticides, which are used in the agricultural sector (80% of conventional pesticide use) as well as the industrial, commercial, governmental and home & garden sectors.Pesticides are also found in majority of U.S. households with 78 million out of the 105.5 million households indicating that they use some form of pesticide. As of 2007, there were more than 1,055 active ingredients registered as pesticides, which yield over 20,000 pesticide products that are marketed in the United States.

Q1: On estimate how many megatonnes of pesticides were used between 2006 and 2007?
A1: approximately 2.4
Q2: What amount of conventional pesticide use does the agricultural sector account for?
A2: 80%
Q3:  Pesticides contain at least how many ingredients?
A3: more than 1,055
Q4: How maney pesticides are offered for sale in the US?
A4: over 20,000
Every dollar ($1) that is spent on pesticides for crops yields four dollars ($4) in crops saved. This means based that, on the amount of money spent per year on pesticides, $10 billion, there is an additional $40 billion savings in crop that would be lost due to damage by insects and weeds. In general, farmers benefit from having an increase in crop yield and from being able to grow a variety of crops throughout the year. Consumers of agricultural products also benefit from being able to afford the vast quantities of produce available year-round. The general public also benefits from the use of pesticides for the control of insect-borne diseases and illnesses, such as malaria. The use of pesticides creates a large job market within the agrichemical sector.

Q1: What do monetary savings in crops from the use of pesticide amount to?
A1: $40 billion
Q2: What amount is spent annualoy on pesticides?
A2: $10 billion
Q3: How are consumers able to benefit from saved crops?
A3: vast quantities of produce available year-round
Q4: In which area do pesticides creat jobs?
A4: agrichemical sector
Q5: How is the health of the general publis affected by pesticides?
A5: control of insect-borne diseases and illnesses
Pesticides may cause acute and delayed health effects in people who are exposed. Pesticide exposure can cause a variety of adverse health effects, ranging from simple irritation of the skin and eyes to more severe effects such as affecting the nervous system, mimicking hormones causing reproductive problems, and also causing cancer. A 2007 systematic review found that "most studies on non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia showed positive associations with pesticide exposure" and thus concluded that cosmetic use of pesticides should be decreased. There is substantial evidence of associations between organophosphate insecticide exposures and neurobehavioral alterations.  Limited evidence also exists for other negative outcomes from pesticide exposure including neurological, birth defects, fetal death,

Q1: Can pesticides have a serious effect on people?
A1: cause acute and delayed health effects
Q2: What is one of the most serious effects of exposure to pesticides?
A2: cancer
Q3: What is thought to possibly cause neurobehavioral alterations?
A3: organophosphate insecticide exposures
The World Health Organization and the UN Environment Programme estimate that each year, 3 million workers in agriculture in the developing world experience severe poisoning from pesticides, about 18,000 of whom die. Owing to inadequate regulation and safety precautions, 99% of pesticide related deaths occur in developing countries that account for only 25% of pesticide usage. According to one study, as many as 25 million workers in developing countries may suffer mild pesticide poisoning yearly. There are several careers aside from agriculture that may also put individuals at risk of health effects from pesticide exposure including pet groomers, groundskeepers, and fumigators.

Q1: How many workers in agriculture die a year from severly poisining pesticides in developing countries?
A1: 18,000
Q2: What careers put people in danger of being exposed to pesticide poisining?
A2: groomers, groundskeepers, and fumigators
Q3: In developing countries, how many workers are exposed to mild pesticide poisining?
A3: as 25 million
Q4: Why are 99% of pesticide related deaths in underdeveloped countries?
A4: inadequate regulation
Pesticide use raises a number of environmental concerns. Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, including non-target species, air, water and soil. Pesticide drift occurs when pesticides suspended in the air as particles are carried by wind to other areas, potentially contaminating them. Pesticides are one of the causes of water pollution, and some pesticides are persistent organic pollutants and contribute to soil contamination.

Q1: What pecentage of sprayed pesticides affect the wrong species?
A1: Over 98%
Q2: What is affected when pesticides don't reach their target?
A2: non-target species, air, water and soil
Q3: What is it called when pesticides are caught in the wind and carried to unintended areas?
A3: Pesticide drift
Q4: Pesticides contribute to what sort of pollution?
A4: water pollution
Q5: What is the effect of pesticide drift?
A5: potentially contaminating
Since chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides dissolve in fats and are not excreted, organisms tend to retain them almost indefinitely. Biological magnification is the process whereby these chlorinated hydrocarbons (pesticides) are more concentrated at each level of the food chain. Among marine animals, pesticide concentrations are higher in carnivorous fishes, and even more so in the fish-eating birds and mammals at the top of the ecological pyramid. Global distillation is the process whereby pesticides are transported from warmer to colder regions of the Earth, in particular the Poles and mountain tops. Pesticides that evaporate into the atmosphere at relatively high temperature can be carried considerable distances (thousands of kilometers) by the wind to an area of lower temperature, where they condense and are carried back to the ground in rain or snow.

Q1: Why are hydrocarbon pesticides not excreted?
A1: dissolve in fats
Q2: How are levels of pesticides higher going up the food chain?
A2: Biological magnification
Q3: The movement of pesticides from wawrme to cooler climates is called what?
A3: Global distillation
Q4: How could pesticides travel over hundreds of miles?
A4: the wind
In order to reduce negative impacts, it is desirable that pesticides be degradable or at least quickly deactivated in the environment. Such loss of activity or toxicity of pesticides is due to both innate chemical properties of the compounds and environmental processes or conditions. For example, the presence of halogens within a chemical structure often slows down degradation in an aerobic environment. Adsorption to soil may retard pesticide movement, but also may reduce bioavailability to microbial degraders.

Q1: What feature is wanted to assist with reducing negative impacts of pesticides?
A1: that pesticides be degradable
Q2: How else can negative impacts of pesticides be reduced?
A2: quickly deactivated in the environment
Q3: What is one way by which pesticides lose their efficacy?
A3: presence of halogens
Q4: What may slow pesticide movement?
A4: Adsorption to soil
Alternatives to pesticides are available and include methods of cultivation, use of biological pest controls (such as pheromones and microbial pesticides), genetic engineering, and methods of interfering with insect breeding. Application of composted yard waste has also been used as a way of controlling pests. These methods are becoming increasingly popular and often are safer than traditional chemical pesticides. In addition, EPA is registering reduced-risk conventional pesticides in increasing numbers.

Q1: What is one thing that can be used in place of pesticides?
A1: methods of cultivation
Q2: What natural product can be used to control pests?
A2: composted yard waste
Q3: Why are alternative methods of pest control gaining popularity?
A3: safer than traditional chemical pesticides
Q4: What agency has offered acceptance of safer pesticides?
A4: EPA
Q5: What is one non chemical way of dealing with pests?
A5: interfering with insect breeding
The term "push-pull" was established in 1987 as an approach for integrated pest management (IPM). This strategy uses a mixture of behavior-modifying stimuli to manipulate the distribution and abundance of insects. "Push" means the insects are repelled or deterred away from whatever resource that is being protected. "Pull" means that certain stimuli (semiochemical stimuli, pheromones, food additives, visual stimuli, genetically altered plants, etc.) are used to attract pests to trap crops where they will be killed. There are numerous different components involved in order to implement a Push-Pull Strategy in IPM.

Q1: What does IPM stand for?
A1: integrated pest management
Q2: How can the location and amount of insects be changed?
A2: behavior-modifying stimuli
Q3: What is one thing that can be used to pull pests?
A3: food additives
Q4: What is the name of the process by which pests are attracted and repelled using IPM.
A4: Push-Pull
Some evidence shows that alternatives to pesticides can be equally effective as the use of chemicals. For example, Sweden has halved its use of pesticides with hardly any reduction in crops.[unreliable source?] In Indonesia, farmers have reduced pesticide use on rice fields by 65% and experienced a 15% crop increase.[unreliable source?] A study of Maize fields in northern Florida found that the application of composted yard waste with high carbon to nitrogen ratio to agricultural fields was highly effective at reducing the population of plant-parasitic nematodes and increasing crop yield, with yield increases ranging from 10% to 212%; the observed effects were long-term, often not appearing until the third season of the study.

Q1: How much was Sweden able to lower thier pesticide usage?
A1: halved its use
Q2: What other country has reduced its pesticide usage?
A2: Indonesia
Q3: What natural substance has been found to effectively increase crop yields
A3: carbon to nitrogen
Q4: What amount of gain in crops can be contributed to application of composted yard waste?
A4: 10% to 212%
Pesticides are often referred to according to the type of pest they control. Pesticides can also be considered as either biodegradable pesticides, which will be broken down by microbes and other living beings into harmless compounds, or persistent pesticides, which may take months or years before they are broken down: it was the persistence of DDT, for example, which led to its accumulation in the food chain and its killing of birds of prey at the top of the food chain. Another way to think about pesticides is to consider those that are chemical pesticides or are derived from a common source or production method.

Q1: What is one type of pesticide?
A1: biodegradable
Q2: How long may it take for persistent pesticides to be broken down?
A2: months or years
Q3: What quality caused DDT to build up in various organisms?
A3: persistence
Q4: What is one way to classify pesticides?
A4: type of pest they control
The following sulfonylureas have been commercialized for weed control: amidosulfuron, azimsulfuron, bensulfuron-methyl, chlorimuron-ethyl, ethoxysulfuron, flazasulfuron, flupyrsulfuron-methyl-sodium, halosulfuron-methyl, imazosulfuron, nicosulfuron, oxasulfuron, primisulfuron-methyl, pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, rimsulfuron, sulfometuron-methyl Sulfosulfuron, terbacil, bispyribac-sodium, cyclosulfamuron, and pyrithiobac-sodium. Nicosulfuron, triflusulfuron methyl, and chlorsulfuron are broad-spectrum herbicides that kill plants by inhibiting the enzyme acetolactate synthase. In the 1960s, more than 1 kg/ha (0.89 lb/acre) crop protection chemical was typically applied, while sulfonylureates allow as little as 1% as much material to achieve the same effect.

Q1: What are sulfonyureas commonly used for?
A1: weed control
Q2: Nicosulfuron, triflusulfuron methyl and chlorsulfuron can be classified as what type of pesticides?
A2: broad-spectrum herbicides
Q3: The restriction of what enzyme allows broad-spectrum herbicides to kill plants?
A3: acetolactate synthase
Q4: The amount of material used as a crop protection measure decreased from 1kg/ha in what year to its current 1%?
A4: 1960s
Though pesticide regulations differ from country to country, pesticides, and products on which they were used are traded across international borders. To deal with inconsistencies in regulations among countries, delegates to a conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization adopted an International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides in 1985 to create voluntary standards of pesticide regulation for different countries. The Code was updated in 1998 and 2002. The FAO claims that the code has raised awareness about pesticide hazards and decreased the number of countries without restrictions on pesticide use.

Q1: Is the trade of pesticides and pesticide treated goods limited to the United States?
A1: traded across international borders
Q2: What commitee deals with differences in rules governing the use of pesticides among different countries?
A2: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
Q3: When was the international code which governs the distribution and use of pesticides established?
A3: 1985
Q4: How recently were voluntary standards of pesticide regulation updated?
A4: 2002
Three other efforts to improve regulation of international pesticide trade are the United Nations London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade and the United Nations Codex Alimentarius Commission.[citation needed] The former seeks to implement procedures for ensuring that prior informed consent exists between countries buying and selling pesticides, while the latter seeks to create uniform standards for maximum levels of pesticide residues among participating countries. Both initiatives operate on a voluntary basis.

Q1: What country has attempted to better the controls of pesticide exchanges?
A1: London
Q2: What is one agency who is trying to help make the trade of pesticides safer?
A2: United Nations Codex Alimentarius Commission
Q3: What is one important thing that should be present when countries are trading with pesticides?
A3: prior informed consent
Q4: Are these agencies a requirement in the countries where they exist?
A4: initiatives operate on a voluntary basis
Pesticides safety education and pesticide applicator regulation are designed to protect the public from pesticide misuse, but do not eliminate all misuse. Reducing the use of pesticides and choosing less toxic pesticides may reduce risks placed on society and the environment from pesticide use. Integrated pest management, the use of multiple approaches to control pests, is becoming widespread and has been used with success in countries such as Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, the U.S., Australia, and Mexico. IPM attempts to recognize the more widespread impacts of an action on an ecosystem, so that natural balances are not upset. New pesticides are being developed, including biological and botanical derivatives and alternatives that are thought to reduce health and environmental risks. In addition, applicators are being encouraged to consider alternative controls and adopt methods that reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

Q1: What is one measure taken to keep society safe from improper pesticide use?
A1: pesticide applicator regulation
Q2: What is a choice that users of pesticides can make that will lower risks?
A2: choosing less toxic pesticides
Q3: What is one country that has sucessfully used IPM?
A3: Australia
Q4: Biological and botanical derivatives have what positive effects?
A4: reduce health and environmental risks
Q5: Who has the ability to make the choice of using less harmful pesticides?
A5: applicators