Plant Extracts as Insecticides in Pest Control

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable agriculture through better ecological approaches in pest management is the stimulus for further research in alternate pesticides against conventional pesticides, which lead to increased research in plant sources.

Since a few decades ago, biopesticides have emerged as a potential alternative to synthetic pesticide. The growing interest in biopesticides also stems from the rapid expansion of organic farming during the past decade and the public’s need to have year-round availability of high-quality food. There is also the need to increase food production to meet a growing world population. Biopesticide products can help in crop protection thereby increasing crop yields. For these reasons, development of new novel biopesticides has continued to increase rapidly since mid-1990s. In short, biopesticides play a vital role in crop protection, meeting societal needs and sustaining the planet.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorises biopesticides into biochemical pesticides, microbial pesticides and plants containing added genetic material. However, the most common categories of biopesticides are botanicals and microbial pesticides. Botanical pesticides refer to pesticides of plant origin, where microbial pesticides refer to pesticides that include micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Botanical pesticides are obtained from plants (medicinal and aromatic). A wide range of technologies is available for extraction of active components and essential oils from medicinal and aromatic plants. The choice depends on the economic feasibility and suitability of the process to the particular situation. Many of these components are secondary plant substances, including alkaloids, quinines, essential oils (including terpenoids), glycosides and flavonoids. Essentially, these compounds interfere with the growth and development of a pest, its ability to reproduce, or pest ecology, so reducing the expansion of the pest population.

Parasitoids and predators are natural enemies of insect pests in agroecosystems. Most conventional insecticides used to control pests in cultivated crops are relatively broad spectrum, killing the target species and the non-target beneficial insects as well. In general, the plant-derived insecticides, although effective against insect pests of agricultural importance, spare the beneficial insect’s comparative to conventional insecticides, because of their capacities of biodegradable nature and innate low mammal toxicity. However, some plant derived products either in crude or in formulation showed slight or moderate ill effects to some parasitoids, predators and honey bees during the application [and] may greatly reduce the risk.

No residual or persistent toxicity of botanical pesticides in the environment has so far been reported. In terms of insect resistance to botanical pesticides, it has developed as quickly as with conventional pesticides because the complex mixture in the botanical insecticides act to disrupt the selection process due to multiple modes of action. Plant derived insecticides are compatible with IPM, Biological Control and also with some conventional pesticides.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Errol Hassan
Guest Editor

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