Now it is impossible to imagine agronomy where insecticides would not be used. Thanks to chemical fertilizers, we can provide not only a good crop, but also protect it from various insect pests. However, researchers from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada have discovered a link between the sharp decline in the population of certain species of birds and the application of chemical fertilizers.
Scientists in the experiment decided to use drugs based on neonicotinoids in wild birds. One of these subjects was ravens. Along with the food they spiked with small amounts of insecticides used against insects. The result of this feeding manifested itself in a few days: it turned out that crows are not only lost weight and changed the migration route, but also seriously undermined their reproductive health.
Researchers stopped the experiment, that no longer endanger the lives of birds. To study was as objective as possible, the birds was offered only the food that they could only be found in the wild – seeds, fruits and vegetables. Despite a small portion of processed food chemicals, this was enough to seriously hurt crows.
By the way, a few words about the chemical. Neonicotinoid-based insecticides are most frequently used for the treatment of fruit trees. They are used as the seed material or used as a sprayer. Initially it was thought that such substances can not hurt the animals, but experiments have shown, that all exactly the opposite.
Insecticides may suffer from not only the crows, but sparrows, chickadees, woodpeckers, and almost all kinds of songbirds. And you probably know about the events in China in the 60s, when, due to the almost complete disappearance of small sparrows, more than 15 million people died. If we do not stop the widespread use of chemical fertilizers, sooner or later we run the risk to be without care of the natural protectors of crops – birds.
