natural-products-in-plant-pest-management

PrefaceThe ever increasing global population needs substantial resources for foodproduction. However, food production as well as its protection is imperative.The situation gets particularly critical in developing countries where the netfood production rate is slowing down relative to the population rise. Theworld food situation is aggravated by the fact that, in spite of all the availablemeans of plant protection, a major fraction of the yearly output of food commoditiesgets destroyed by various pests including bacteria, fungi, viruses,insects, rodents and nematodes. The production of mycotoxins by fungi hasadded new dimensions to the gravity of the problem. Losses at times aresevere enough to lead to famine in large areas of the world that are denselypopulated and dependent on agriculture.The use of synthetic pesticides has undoubtedly contributed to a greenrevolution in different countries through increased crop protection. However,recent years witnessed considerable pressure on consumers and farmersto reduce or even eliminate the deployment of synthetic pesticides inagriculture owing to environmental risks emerging from their indiscriminateuse. Thus, there has been renewed interest in botanical pesticides as the alternativeand eco-chemical option in pest management. It is also imperative forsustainable agriculture to reduce the incidence of pests and crop diseases toa degree that does not seriously damage the farmer’s products and also todevelop cost-effective strategies with minimal ecological side effects.The use of locally available plants in the control of pests is an age-oldtechnology in many parts of the world. Some plants, namely Derris, Nicotianaand Ryania, were used to combat agricultural pests during the prehistoricera. Used widely until the 1940s, such botanical pesticides have been partiallyreplaced by synthetic pesticides that are easier to procure and longerlasting.Higher plants, in this respect, harbour numerous compounds that mayoffer resistance to pathogens. There has been a renewed interest in botanicalix