RISK ASSESSMENT OF WIDELY USED HERBICIDES ON SOME FRUIT ORCHARDS IN EGYPT

Abstract

The herbicide glyphosate has been widely used all over the world since it was introduced by Monsanto in 1974, and it is successfully used to control annual, perennial and broad-leaved weeds in various horticultural crops, including citrus. Encouraging this wide use, glyphosate has good stability and toxicity properties. In light of the extensive use of the herbicide, some opinions have emerged calling for it to be important to assess its environmental risks and study its acute and chronic effects on non-target species. Actually, some references have reported that glyphosate may cause some diseases. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A) based on its evaluation of some experimental animal studies. This classification has been widely circulated by environmental groups opposed to the extensive use of chemical pesticides, and has called for the use of glyphosate to be restricted or banned. This situation has caused a great deal of debates about the use of glyphosate in many countries. Some studies have confirmed that POEA, which is present in glyphosate formulations as surfactants, is responsible for the confirmed negative effects on human health and the environment. Thus, the countries that were cautious decided to restrict or ban the use of glyphosate and this encouraged the conduct of many studies on evaluation environmental impacts and finding an appropriate alternative to glyphosate in the case of banning or restricting its use, particularly under local conditions. It is known, that there are many models of environmental impact assessments and pesticide risk indicators in the literature, and that these indicators help guide farmers and policy makers to compare the environmental impact of different pesticides and design effective pest control practices with minimal environmental impacts. These indicators usually provide information about the environmental risks of pesticide use in a single section or item. Also, some indicators such as the Environmental Impact