Editing Agrochemical (section)

== History ==
[[Sumer]]ians from 4500 years ago have said to use insecticides in the form of [[sulfur compounds]]. Additionally, the Chinese from about 3200 years ago used [[mercury (element)|mercury]] and [[arsenic]] compounds to control the [[body lice]].<ref name=":0" />

Agrochemicals were introduced to protect crops from pests and enhance [[crop yield]]s. The most common agrochemicals include pesticides and fertilizers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/plants-and-animals/agriculture-and-horticulture/agriculture-general/agrochemical|title=Agrochemical|date=2 May 2017}}</ref> Chemical fertilizers in the 1960s were responsible for the beginning of the "[[Green Revolution]]", where using the same surface of land using intensive irrigation and mineral fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium has greatly increased food production.<ref name="Carvalho 2006 pp. 685–692">{{cite journal | last=Carvalho | first=Fernando P. | title=Agriculture, pesticides, food security and food safety | journal=Environmental Science & Policy | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=9 | issue=7–8 | year=2006 | issn=1462-9011 | doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2006.08.002 | pages=685–692| bibcode=2006ESPol...9..685C }}</ref> Throughout the 1970s through 1980s, pesticide research continued into producing more selective agrochemicals.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://agrochemicals.iupac.org/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=3&sobi2Id=31&Itemid=19|title=History of Pesticide Use|last=Unsworth|first=John|date=10 May 2010|website=International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry}}</ref> Due to the adaptation of pests to these chemicals, more and new agrochemicals were being used, causing side effects in the environment.