Ode To AI Makes Pesticides Work
Where fields of green meet skies so blue, And pesticides aid crops anew. Let safety be our guiding light, Protecting health, both day and night.
With careful hand and measured pace, We shield ourselves, embrace our space. Gloves and masks, a steadfast guard, As labels guide, instructions hard.
Storage secure, away from reach, Of tiny hands, beyond the breach. Disposal wise, the environment’s plea, For healthy lands, for you and me.
So let us spray with caution’s art, And keep safety close, within our heart. For crops that thrive and ecosystems bright, Pesticide safety, a radiant light.
That little poem was written entirely by artificial intelligence (Gemini 1.5 pro) using the prompt “write a short poem on pesticide safety”. Nobody would confuse it for Shakespeare or Tennyson, but not too shabby Mr. Roboto. Although a blog will be coming in the future about artificial intelligence, I want to talk about AI that Makes Pesticides Work. Read on to find out specifically what AI I am discussing and how it relates to pesticides.
Where do I find the info?
Those who work with pesticides already know a.i. stands for active ingredient and it’s the part of a pesticide that does the work. It’s what’s in the jug, bag, container of pesticide that actually does something inside the pest. Dare I say, it’s the active part of the pesticide. If I say Off, you all know that is mosquito repellant (yes, it’s a pesticide!) and it has multiple things in it. One of the ingredients, DEET, is the part that actually repels the mosquitos, it’s the ACTIVE part of the ingredients. All pesticides have an active ingredient, its how they work, and can be found on the front of all labels in the ingredients section. Its always there and up front, because knowing what is in your product matters.
Right below the active ingredients section you will find the words, inert, other, or inactive ingredients. Some might even think this is some mysterious brew, some magic that nobody knows anything about. Although those ingredients aren’t listed on the label, they are considered proprietary knowledge, somebody knows what they are and has reviewed them. That’s right, the EPA requires ALL inert ingredients be tested, just like the active ingredients, and approved for use. To see the list of approved inert ingredients you can check here: https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/basic-information-about-pesticide-ingredients#:~:text=Called%20%E2%80%9Cinert%20ingredients%E2%80%9D%20by%20the,e.g.%2C%20beeswax%2C%20cellulose).
There is a lot of information there, but you will have to go to other websites. So yes, they are registered and tested just like active ingredients and are just as important to helping a pesticide work properly.
Why does it matter?
Why does knowing the active ingredient matter in the first place? Well, if I say Roundup nearly all of you will think “Glyphosate”. Yes, there are products sold as Roundup that have glyphosate in them, but did you know there are Roundup products sold that not only don’t have glyphosate, some of them aren’t even herbicides! Always read the label and the active ingredients before using or buying a pesticide. That active ingredient gives you some idea about how that pesticide will work. Some active ingredients only work on some pests and not others, while some may be very broad in what they control. Knowing which product you are using really does matter. Spraying Roundup insecticide on your yard will NOT control the weeds and be a waste of money and unnecessary use of product. Know your active ingredients! Those of you that indulge in the occasional adult beverage will know that drinking a “beer” you thought was just a light beer but turned out to be a super triple hopped IPA…big difference. A beer by any other name may NOT be so sweet (there’s our Shakespeare). Knowing which specific active ingredient you have makes a difference.
Although A.I. is going to influence society in ways big and small, robots aren’t running pesticides yet. AI Makes Pesticides Work if we know it means active ingredient. I hope I didn’t break the internet by making A.I. write about A.I., but I don’t think Skynet is self-aware just yet. It sure did write a decent poem though and helped me get this blog off the ground. Stay safe out there!
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Helpful links:
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/pesticideinformation/tag/parts-of-a-pesticide-label/
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