Global scenario on the application of natural products in integrated pest management programmes

Abstract

In recent years there has been considerable pressure in agriculture to reduce chemical pesticides and to look for their better alternatives. The plant kingdom is recognized as the most effi cient producer of different biologically active compounds, which provide them with resistance against different pests. Some higher plant products have been currently formulated as botanical pesticides and are used on a large scale as ecofriendly and biodegradable measures in managing agricultural pests. Botanicals used in agricultural pest management are safer to the user and the environment. The interest in the possible use of natural compounds to control agricultural pests has notably increased in response to consumer pressure to reduce or eliminate chemically synthesized additives in foods. There is a wide scope of use of plant-based pesticides in the integrated management of different agricultural pests. A consolidated and continuous search of natural products may yield safer alternative control measures comparable to azadirachtin and pyrethryoids, which are being used in different part of the world as ideal natural fungicides. The products from higher plants are safe and economical and would be in high demand in the global pesticide market because of their diverse mode of application. © CAB International 2011. All rights reserved.