Category: Pesticides

“Explore one of the ways our environment is impacted by our agricultural practices or industrial food complex.”

One of the main things that go into the creation of our crops is pesticides, which includes herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and rodenticides. This junk is obviously toxic, yet it is continued to be used in order to contain pests. Pesticides don’t only affect the environments health, but ours as well, so I’d like to tie that into all this, but focus mainly on the environmental factors. Pesticides are very toxic to living organisms, especially weeds and bushes, which in some cases are used as an ecosystem by other animals and insects. I was reading up on how the use of glyphosate in the herbicide Roundup actually reduces the concentrations of essential plant nutrients in the soil, affecting a bush called the milkweed, which monarch butterflies use as a habitat. So in cases such as that, the pesticide may not be directly affecting a certain organism such as the monarchs, yet could be affecting another organism such as the milkweed that would ultimately result in a snowball effect, destroying anything using that affected organism to live.

The use of pesticides won’t stop, but maybe a more environmentally friendly one will come around. As of now though, there is no environmentally friendly pesticide, and it is greatly affecting our environment and ultimately us. With this continued use of pesticides, the milkweed will have multiple other plants that become deprived of mandatory nutrients, other plants that we need to survive, other plants that keep insects that we need, such as bees living. What also seems to be occurring with this continued use of pesticides is the newly found presence of pesticide resistant weeds. Which obviously is no good for our crops, as the weeds are basically stealing all the things necessary to keep the crops alive.

Just as the pesticides are destroying bushes necessary to keep ecosystem alive, they are ironically creating weeds resistant to them. This is a horrible situation, but I cannot help to laugh as this really couldn’t get any worse. It’s as if everything that could go bad is going bad. Unless we truly create that mentioned environmentally friendly pesticide and/or find a way to get rid of these pesticide resistant weeds, our crops health will continue to worsen, and with that ours will too. Just as the monarch butterflies and their milkweed. I’ll look at this situation optimistically, as we are in an age of science. With time I believe the people who made those pesticides will find a way to make them cooperate with the environment rather than destroy it all. Those pesticide resistant weeds will probably be eradicated in time as well, because well, science can do a lot of things. Hopefully though, these new innovations stated don’t bring new negative effects into our environment.

Pesticides and heavy metals have been plaguing our society for a number of years. As you know, pesticides are poisons that can kill pests. But in addition to killing pests, they are also killing us. Heavy metals have infiltrated most of our lives. We’re constantly being exposed to these sometimes lethal substances in all aspects of our day-to-day interactions with the world. They are both responsible for a number of serious diseases and disabilities; affecting us on a cellular level. This needs to end. Pesticides and heavy metals have become part of American culture. The United States Department of Agriculture in 2016 states that eighty-five percent of foods tested have pesticide residues. Heavy metals in vaccinations alone build up to toxic amounts after the numerous injections that the american populus receives from birth.

The effects of pesticides and heavy metals are increased when paired together, but individually, they still have a severe impact on our health. Heavy metal toxicity/poisoning can occur from air and water pollution, foods, medicines, and many other things. Heavy metals can have half lives extending up to several hundred years and can actually be passed on from generation to generation, still causing birth defects, autism, cancer, and many more debilitating conditions. Aluminum specifically, when injected directly into our circulatory system and thus bypassing our bodies natural defences, can pass through the blood brain barrier with any other toxins that have bound themselves to it. This is responsible for many of the mental handicaps that have become increasingly prominent in our society as it rips the neurons apart. Because of their long half lives and the fact that they resist your bodies attempts to detoxify them out, many small doses cause the toxicity levels to build up and become more potent. Similarly pesticides, when we are chronically exposed to them, contribute to the development of “Parkinson’s disease; asthma; depression and anxiety; cancer, including leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma; and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),” as said by the Pesticide Action Network UK. Pesticides and heavy metals affect us on a cellular level by impacting our gene regulation. Our cells express, or turn on, only a fraction of their genes. The rest of the genes are repressed, or turned off. This is, in essence, what gene regulation is, and it is an important part of normal development. When we are presented with these toxins, they start tampering with our genes and cells in such a way that they start turning on and off genes that may make us more susceptible to allergies, cancer, dementia, infertility, or other things that compromise our cells’ effectiveness and capability.

In addition, “heavy metal exposure can contribute to genetic damage by inducing double strand breaks (DBSs) as well as inhibiting critical proteins from different DNA repair pathways” (Heavy Metal Exposure Influences Double Strand Break DNA Repair Outcomes). Pesticides and heavy metals are damaging citizens on a cellular level and are disrupting our bodies’ natural ability to detoxify and heal. All of the pieces are connected. It starts with the bombardment of toxins we are subjected to which then kills and changes our cells to cause us to be unhealthy. All of the diseases and disabilities previously mentioned can be traced back to what is happening in the most basic unit of life itself: the cell. Fix the root cause, and fix America. People will function at their fullest capacity. The brain fog and mental handicaps will diminish allowing Americans to make leaps in technology and productiveness. To reach America’s highest potential, we must first build on a firm foundation. Eliminate pesticides and heavy metals.

Pesticides constitute a heterogeneous category of chemicals specifically designed for preventing; destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.1 the broad term of pesticides includes both herbicides and insecticides. Pesticide describes hundreds of synthetic and naturally occurring chemicals designed or naturally produced to deter insects and other agricultural pests, including weeds. Numerous groups of pesticides can be classified and can be grouped according to the target organisms (such as insecticides, fungicides and herbicides), chemical structure (such as organochlorine, organophosphorus, phenoxy acid herbicides, urea and pyrethroids), or type of health hazards produced 2. Six specific pesticides – captafol, ethylene dibromide, glyphosate, Malathion, diazinon and dichlorophenyltrichloroethane (DDT) – are classed as a probable cause of cancer (Group 2A). Seven pesticides: tetrachlorvinphos, parathion, metolachlor, pendimethalin, permethrin, trifluralin and 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) have been classified as possible causes of cancer (Group 2B). The association between pesticide exposure and cancerogen¬esis is actually one of the main issues in occupational and environmental toxicology.

Many rural women have been driven into the plantation sector or into other forms of corporate cash cropping (such as floriculture) where their exposure to pesticides has increased dramatically. In some countries, women make up 85 percent or more of the pesticide applicators on commercial farms plantations, often working whilst pregnant or breastfeeding. There are estimated 30,000 women pesticide sprayers in Malaysia alone that spray pesticides, and frequently exposed to highly toxic ones like paraquat, on an average of 262 days per year. Eighty percent of the spraying is carried out with leaky hand-held equipment. An incentive of extra 50 cents per day is enough to encourage these impoverished women to spray. 3 still if they do not directly apply the pesticides, women work and raise their children in a toxic environment. They mix pesticides, weed while pesticides are being applied, wash out pesticide containers, or harvest pesticide-doused crops. They wash pesticide- soaked clothing and store pesticides in their homes. 4 Data collected from developing countries in various research shows that women’s exposure to pesticides is significantly higher than is formally recognized, and that pesticide poisonings are greatly underestimated. In 2014, 235,030 new cases of breast cancer were projected to be diagnosed in the U.S., making it the most common cancer diagnosis among women.5 Endogenous and exogenous estrogen exposure contribute to breast cancer development; factors such as younger age at menarche and use of postmenopausal estrogen and progestin are recognized to increase breast cancer risk. Endocrine-disrupting properties have been attributed to several environmental agents used for pest control, including pesticides like Atrazine, Di-chloro Di-phenyl Trichloro Ethane (DDT/DDE), Dieldrin and Aldrin, Hepatochlor, Endosulfan and Dichlorvos suggesting that exposure to pesticides could also influence breast cancer risk.6, 7, 8, 9.

Organochlorine pesticides such as 1, 1’-(2, 2, 2-trichloroethane-1, 1-diyl) bis (4- chlorobenzene) (DDT) have been used extensively as insecticides. DDT, a halogenated hydrocarbon, was introduced as an insecticide in the 1940s, and in 1972, the United States Environmental Protection Agency.DDT and its metabolite 1, 1’-(2, 2- dichloroethene-1, 1-diyl) bis (4-chlorobenzene) (DDE) are lipid soluble compounds that persist in the environment and bio accumulate in the body in adipose tissue at levels far higher than those in blood and breast milk, and therefore some researcher groups investigated whether exposure to these pesticides is associated with breast cancer risk in women10, 11, 12,13,14,15. Some findings suggested that environmental chemical contamination with organochlorine residues may be an important etiologic factor in breast cancer.

Organophosphorous pesticides have been used extensively to control mosquito plagues. Parathion (O, O-diethyl O-(4-nitrophenyl) phosphorothioate) and malathion that are extensively used to control a wide range of sucking and chewing pests of field crops, fruits and vegetables have many structural similarities with naturally occurring compounds, and their primary target of action in insects is the nervous system; they inhibit the release of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase at the synaptic junction. In rats parathion and Malathion were found to induce changes in the epithelium of mammary gland influencing the process of carcinogenesis and such alterations occurred at the level of nervous system by increasing the cholinergic stimulation. Mammary tumour incidence in the parathion-treated rats was 14.3% and in malathion-treated animals was 24.3%, and treating the animals with atropine (which acts to oppose the cholinergic effects of the organophosphates) allowed the milk ducts to develop more normally and prevented the mammary cancers. Parathion and Malathion induced malignant transformation of breast cells through genomic instability altering p53 and c-Ha-ras genes considered pivotal to cancer process. Parathion was able to induce malignant transformation of an immortalized human breast epithelial cell line MCF-10F, as indicated by increased cell proliferation, and it was found to be an initiator factor in the transformation process in breast cancer. Though high doses of organophosphorus insecticide chlorpyrifos (O, O-diethyl O-(3, 5, 6-trichloropyridin-2-yl) phosphorothioate) inhibited cell proliferation, low levels of this insecticide induced proliferation in MCF-7 cells. Combination of an environmental substance such as the pesticide Malathion and an endogenous substance such as estrogen can enhance the deleterious effects in human mammary glands inducing cancer, and atropine is able to diminish these effects.

The total Agricultural land area of Ghana as at 2012 stood at 14,038,224 hectares, out of which 7,847,300 hectares is under cultivation (MOFA/SRID, 2013). The population of the country keeps increasing at an alarming rate of 2.2% as at 2012, with its attendant increased mouths to feed. In order to continue cultivating and increasing yield, farmers are faced with the task of using various pesticides to control weeds, pests and diseases. The rate of deforestation in Ghana is estimated to be one of the highest in the world after Togo and Nigeria. At an estimated annual rate of 2%, equivalent to 135,000 hectares per annum (ENA Ghana, 2017). This has been brought about by increasing population and the resulting growth in the demand for food, for other agricultural products, for energy (fuel wood and charcoal) and other forest products FAO. This is exacerbated by unsustainable harvesting practices for timber and other forest products.

Since 1946, there has been several attempts at increasing the stocks of high value timber species in Ghana’s forests. According to Nolan & Ghartey, 1992, in order to improve the stocking of the Wet Evergreen forest reserves (which were in their view poorly stocked) and sustain the supply of the then ‘desirable’ species such as Khaya, Entandrophragma, Lovoa and Heritiera, the enrichment planting strategy was adopted. The program was however abandoned after planting an area of about 2,500 ha, due to lack of budgetary support.

Deforestation and forest degradation in Ghana

Agricultural pesticides are powerful substances that are developed, produced and used to mitigate crop damage or loss by pest organisms. Increasing yields in agriculture and checking insect-borne diseases (malaria, dengue, encephalitis, filariasis, etc.) in the human health sector are significantly enhanced by controlling pests and diseases. The decimation of beneficial agricultural predators of pests has led to the proliferation of several pests and diseases. Despite all these impacts and costs, farmers continue to use pesticides in most countries at an increasing rate, while biological methods of pest control have become limited. Continuous use of pesticides has resulted in damage to the environment, caused human ill health, negatively impacted on agricultural production and reduced agricultural sustainability.

In Ghana, an extensive forest estate, consisting of 1.6 million hectares of forest reserves, was gazetted in the High Forest Zone (HFZ) in the 1920’s. At the time there were large areas of forests outside these gazetted forest reserves across the country. Over the period significant portions of these forests have been lost or degraded. The key underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation include population and economic growth and weak governance structures. High population and economic growth have led to high domestic wood consumption and high demand for timber to satisfy export markets. Additionally, growing domestic and export demand for agricultural commodities such as cocoa, oil palm, cashew, and food crops has led to large scale conversion of forests to agricultural uses.

The government of Ghana, through the Forestry Commission, came up with an approach to rejuvenating old degraded forests that took into account financial benefits for farmers and other stakeholders involved and transferred ownership of the trees from a single entity (the government) to multiple owners (farmers, local communities, government and land-owners). MTS is an approach to the allocation of economic benefits and resources. Farmers were therefore allocated a portion of degraded forest land to cultivate food crops while at the same time planting and tending to forest trees until the tree canopy closes after 3 years, then they are moved to other plots. With food crop cultivation came the need to control weeds, diseases and pests which necessitated the introduction of pesticides by the farmers.

The Modified Taungya System

Taungya was developed in Burma as a result of numerous confrontations between farmers and the British forestry service, and was used primarily to allow the Karen much needed access to reserve forest land (Bryant 1994), and was introduced in Ghana as early as 1928 when the then Forestry Department was charged with the responsibility of establishing forest plantations for the production of wood in the long term and also to meet the needs of farmers for fertile land in areas where farm land outside the national permanent forest estate was infertile and limited. There was an intensification of taungya plantation establishment in Ghana between 1969 and 1985 (FD, 1985) as part of the Operation Feed Yourself Program. It was however not widely adopted despite the supposed advantages, and virtually came to a halt due to the problem of co-partnership since farmers had no right in the benefit sharing. The Ghanaian government, within its 1994 Forest and Wildlife Policy (FWP) and forest plantations development program, reviewed and reintroduced the traditional Taungya system in 2002 as the Modified Taungya System (MTS).

Taungya starts as an agroforestry system during the initial three years, and then evolves to a plantation system when the trees form a closed canopy, and farmers are expected to tend the trees to maturity. Farmers are also expected after three years to move to other plots, mostly degraded state-owned/managed forest reserves, to repeat the agroforestry practice. Interactions between crops and trees under taungya systems are designed to achieve complementary rather than competitive effects. The farmers were permitted to cultivate their food crops which were interplanted with the forest trees on the same piece of land. The farmers, in addition to the food crops they harvested, have a 40% share in the Standing Tree Value (STV) of the planted trees. The Government has a 40% share while the landowner and community will have a 15% and 5% share respectively (GFPS, 2016).

The FC provided technical direction, surveyed and demarcated degraded forest reserve lands and supplied pegs and seedlings while the farmers provided all the labor inputs in the form of site preparation, pegging, planting, tending and fire protection. Tree planting was strictly monitored, but no restriction was made on the types, dosages and forms of pesticides which can and cannot be used by the farmers in achieving their crop production goals as long as the trees are being ‘protected’ form them.

Pesticides and the need for them

In order to reduce time, energy, resources and funds spent in manual land preparation, weed, and disease and pests control, MTS farmers turned to the use of pesticides for their crop production activities. Pesticides are widely used in most sectors of the agricultural production to prevent or reduce losses by pests and thus can improve yield as well as quality of the produce, even in terms of cosmetic appeal, which is often important to consumers. The term pesticide includes a broad range of compounds including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, nematicides, plant growth regulators and others.

In many countries, achieving food security is a primary concern in agriculture. Sustainable intensification of production and prevention of post-harvest losses are key elements. In this regard, there is a need for sustainable responses to outbreaks of endemic and trans-boundary pests and diseases that are affecting agricultural production and food security. With growing global trade in agricultural commodities and produce, it is also important to ensure that transport of agricultural produce does not lead to the spread of pests and diseases. While pesticides play an important role in plant protection, in many cases, misuse and other inappropriate use has actually exacerbated pest problems through destructive effects on natural control mechanisms and development of pesticide resistance.

To reduce yield losses, farmers frequently apply higher rates of pesticides than those recommended by experts and extension agents, usually as a result of the common belief that the application of high pesticide rates is more effective. In this context, however, decisions on pesticide applications are made without consideration of human health and environmental concerns by many farmers. As an agriculture-based nation, the use of pesticides contributes much to the national development and public health programs. Since the introduction of pesticides in Ghana, its use to protect crops from pests has significantly reduced losses and improved the yield of crops such as cereals, vegetables, fruits and other crops. There has been a study growth of pesticide usage in Ghana, both in number of chemicals and quantities because of the expansion of area under cultivation for food, vegetables and cash crops.

Some farmers are of the view that the more or as often as they apply pesticides the greater the chances of higher yield and also destroying crop pest. They have no idea of the half-lives of these chemicals no the dangers they pose when misused. Pesticide related issues have increasingly and extensively been highlighted in the media and have attracted sharp focus among industrialized and developing countries (FAO, 2005). It is estimated that, about one third of the world’s agricultural production is lost every year due to pests, despite pesticide use which totaled more than 2 million tons. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (2005), more than 99% of world pesticide poisonings are reported in developing countries, although they accounted for 20% of worldwide pesticide use; due to easy access to more toxic products, less protection against exposure, limited knowledge to health risk and safe use of pesticides

During the last decades, agricultural production has undergone immense growth, relying heavily on external inputs, such as pesticides and inorganic fertilizers, as means of increasing food production.

Humans have utilized pesticides to protect their crops before 2000 BC. The first known pesticide was elemental sulphur dusting used in ancient Sumer about 4,500 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. The Rig Veda which is about 5000 years old mentions the use of poisonous plants for pest control. By the 15th century, toxic chemicals such as arsenic, mercury and lead were being applied to crops to kill pests. In the 17th century, nicotine sulphate was extracted from tobacco leaves for use as an insecticide. The 19th century saw the introduction of two more natural pesticides, pyrethrum which is derived from chrysanthermuons and rotenone which is derived from the roots of tropical vegetables (Miller, 2002).

Until the 1950s, arsenic based pesticides were dominant (Ritter, 2001). Organochlorines were replaced in the U.S. by organophosphates and carbamates by 1975. Herbicides became common in the 1960s led by atriazine and other nitrogenbased compounds carboxylic acids such as 2, 14 dichlorophenoxyacetic acids and glyphostate. Some sources consider the 1940s and 1950s to have been the start of the pesticides era. Pesticide use has increased 50-fold since 1950 and 2.3 million tons of industrial pesticides are now used each year. Seventy-five percent of all pesticides in the world are used in developed countries, but use in developing countries is increasing (Miller, 2004). In the 1960s, it was discovered that DDT was preventing many fish-eating birds from reproducing, which was a serious threat to biodiversity. Rachel Carson wrote the best-selling book Silent Spring about biological magnification of pesticides. According to Lobe (2006), even though the agricultural use of DDT is now banned under the Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants, it is still used in some developing nations to prevent malaria and other tropical diseases by spraying on interior walls to kill or repel mosquitoes.

in terms of cosmetic appeal of fresh produce, but there are now concerns about overuse, mainly relating to contamination of water bodies, pesticide residues on food, and consequent negative effects both on wildlife and human health. The deleterious effects of these organochlorine pesticides on wild life primarily led to their ban from routine use in the US and many other countries in 1970’s and 1980’s (Dunlap, 1981). With the exception of endosulfan which was considered for restricted use in 2008, Ghana has banned the use of many organochlorine pesticides since 1985. Fauna and flora have been adversely affected. Numerous short- and long-term human health effects have been recorded. Human deaths are not uncommon. Pesticides are generally considered a remedy for farmers’ pest and weed concerns, farmers’ perceptions and use of the chemicals have not received much attention.

In Ghana, there has not been any known comprehensive study of the perceptions that drive pesticides use and its impacts in the Modified Taungya system of farming. The perceptions of farmers regarding, in particular, pesticide risks to human health are important for a number of reasons: first, they may influence decisions regarding pesticide use; second, if these perceptions differ from expert opinion, it is useful to know why and whether they lead farmers to take more risks than they realize; third, they may influence the methods of protection used against pesticides; and, last, technical advice given to farmers on pesticide use and crop protection may be useless and irrelevant when it does not tally with their own perceptions of pesticide health effects.

Thus, knowledge of farmers’ perceptions of pesticide effects may help in predicting their behavior regarding pest control. Farmers’ knowledge of the pros and cons of pesticides can be influenced by several socio-economic characteristics, but apart from socio-economic characteristics, farm characteristics are also related to the level of knowledge and ultimately reflect decision-making regarding pest control strategies and attitudes towards pesticide use. Farmers’ awareness is often influenced by socioeconomic characteristics, such as formal education and level of technical knowledge regarding pesticide use. At the same time, decisions about pest control are quite subjective and may depend on several characteristics of farmers, including personal beliefs, perceptions, and preferences.

Have you ever heard the saying “you are what you eat?” According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, “Over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the United States each year and approximately 5. 6 billion pounds are used worldwide”. This correlates to over 3 pounds of pesticides used annually for every citizen of America. So why is pesticide use such a big deal? According to the Pesticide Action Network UK, “Long term pesticide exposure has been linked to the development of Parkinson’s disease; asthma; depression and anxiety; cancer, including leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma; and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. ” Since pesticides are used to stunt the growth of produce and other food items, this experiment will test whether or not the method used for washing produce treated with pesticides, in this case conventional potatoes, affects their ability to grow. This will show if pesticide residue can be removed, allowing greater growth of the potato, or if its effects are permanent. The findings of this data will be beneficial to consumers so they know what is best for them and their families.

“Pesticides are defined as chemical substances used to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pest ranging from insects, rodents, and weeds to microorganisms”. The USDA found 35 pesticide residues on products, 6 of which are probable carcinogens. A carcinogen is a substance or exposure that could lead to cancer. This means that using pesticides, which are found on everyday items, is increasing the risk of developing cancer. The earliest use of pesticides dates back nearly 4, 500 years ago. In the beginning, “pesticides” used were all natural sources, mainly derived from other plant or animal products. “As there was no chemical industry, any product used had to be either of plant or animal derivation or, if of mineral nature, easily obtainable or available”. Even until the 1940s, mostly natural substances were still the main ingredients of pesticides. It wasn’t until later in the 40s that synthetic pesticides were discovered. At this time, people were not concerned about the health effects or other related issues. “Food was cheaper because of the new chemical formulations and with the new pesticides there were no documented cases of people dying or being seriously hurt by their “normal” use”.

Today, pesticides can be found on almost all conventional food sources. Recent studies show “washing produce with running water reduced the amount of pesticide residue for 9 of the 12 tested pesticides”. Full strength 5% vinegar was found to be equally as effective while a 10% salt solution was found to be the most effective. A 10% salt water solution is created using one-part salt to nine-parts water. This experiment will test which of these methods will most effectively decrease the amount of pesticide residue on a conventional potato. All potatoes have “eyes” which are “dark dimples on the potatoes skin clustered near the front of the potato”. Out of each of these eyes, the potato begins to grow sprouts. If planted in soil, the sprouts growing out of the eyes of the potato will create roots that attach to the ground. A new potato begins to grow using the starch from the original potato.

Potatoes are treated with fungicides before growing season, they get sprayed with herbicides before harvesting, and then they are sprayed again after they are dug up to prevent sprouting from occurring. Chlorpropham is the most common pesticide to prevent sprouting found on conventional potatoes with 80. 2% being infected. Chlorpropham has been found to affect the respiratory tract, the urinary system and the body’s digestive profile. “This chemical may also impact the liver, the eyes, and the skin”. Since this pesticide has been found harmful to human health, this experiment will determine whether its residue can be reduced. Once the potatoes are washed using water, vinegar, or salt water, they will be left to grow. After a period of time, the number of sprouts will be counted from each group and compared to each other. If certain groups have more sprouts after the allotted time period, it will indicate that pesticide residue on potatoes, and possibly other produce, can be reduced using that method of washing; therefore, decreasing the harmful effects to consumers. These findings will benefit the overall health of consumers by informing them of the best method to remove pesticide residue prior to the consumption of conventional potatoes.

Billions of pounds of pesticides are used every year on conventional potatoes and other produce. This experiment will determine whether using a specific method of washing can reduce the amount of pesticide residue on conventional potatoes, or if the effects are permanent. Based on the research collected, it is hypothesized that if potatoes are washed using water, 5% white vinegar, or 10% salt water, then the salt water will remove the greatest amount of pesticide residue, resulting in the most sprouting. The data collected from the washed potatoes will be compared to the control group, the potatoes that were not washed. The method of washing could also have no effect on the sprouting of the potatoes.