the.com/fungicide
Chemical warfare against organisms that would rather eat your tomatoes than let you.
means A substance used to kill or stop the growth of fungi, especially on plants, crops, or surfaces prone to mold and mildew.
from Straightforward Latin carpentry: fungus, meaning 'mushroom' or 'fungus' (itself of uncertain, possibly Greek-linked origin), bolted onto -cide, from caedere, 'to kill' — the same ending that gives us pesticide, insecticide, and homicide. No myth here, just Latin doing exactly what it says on the label.
- ironic etymology
- fungi barely qualify as plants, yet we lump them in
- copper legacy
- bordeaux mixture, invented 1880s, still used by vineyards today
- resistance risk
- overuse breeds superfungi, same problem as antibiotics
- double life
- some fungicides also used as preservatives in paint and wood