Biopesticides: The Naturally Originating Plant Protection Products and Biocides
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pests and Weeds".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2021) | Viewed by 26014
Special Issue Editor
Interests: pest management with eco-friendly tools; pesticidal and biocidal secondary metabolites; phytochemistry and bioactivity; mode of action; synergism of active ingredients; side effects on non-target organisms; formulation issues; resistance management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Pesticides are the substances that prevent, repel, suppress, mitigate, or eradicate harmful organisms. They include both “plant protection products” (used in agriculture) and “biocidal products” (used to control pests or bacteria of medical importance or to protect materials). In recent years, the number of synthetic pesticides has been drastically restricted in the EU because of their environmental side effects and subsequent non-inclusion in Annex I of 91/414/EEC. The small number of resulting commercial pesticidal formulates has led to resistance issues and low efficacy. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new, effective, and safe pesticides. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the term “biopesticides” describes pesticides derived from natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. Biopesticides tend to pose fewer risks than conventional pesticides, and recent advantages in food safety generally associate them with Biological Control and IPM, aiming at the reduced use of synthetic pesticides. The “low-risk plant protection products” contain “low-risk substances” that meet the regular approval criteria, and in addition, the low-risk criteria as specified in Annex II, point 5 of Regulation (EC) 1107/2009. There are specific criteria for chemical substances and for micro-organisms. For instance, edible biopesticides of botanical origin may be considered “low risk” (EC) 1107/2009 Article 22 and 47, necessitating a smaller experimental dataset for registration purposes. Similarly, biocidal products containing one or more ‘‘low risk’’ active substance(s) are eligible for a ‘‘simplified authorization procedure’’. In recent years, several natural, plant secondary metabolites have been proven to exhibit significant pesticidal activity and can be prepared in a “green”, easy, and cost-effective way, not employing organic solvents or sophisticated extraction procedures. These crude extracts, composed of a wide variety of constituent secondary metabolites, often act at multiple or novel target sites, reducing the likelihood of resistance development. Some are even proven to inhibit the cytochrome P450 detoxification agents, acting thus synergically with synthetic formulates.
This Special Issue welcomes articles (original research papers and reviews) that focus on pesticides of natural origin (both plant protection products and biocides), efficacy issues, chemical composition and bioactivity, standardization of extraction, mechanisms of activity, phytotoxicity issues, secondary effects on non-target organisms, synergic interactions between active ingredients, synergic interactions with synthetic commercial formulates, inhibition of the cytochrome P450 detoxification agents and resistance management, fate in the environment, and formulation and authorization issues.
Dr. Nikoletta Ntalii
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- Biopesticides
- Secondary metabolites
- Biological activity
- Mode of action
- Synergism
- Resistance management
- Formulation
- Authorization
- Fate
- Secondary effects on non-target organisms
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