natural-products-in-plant-pest-management

Prospects of Large-scale Use of Natural Products 199●●Botanical pesticides are often effective in very small quantities andoften decompose quickly, thereby resulting in lower exposure andlargely avoiding the pollution problems caused by conventionalpesticides.When used as a component of integrated pest management (IPM)programmes, botanical pesticides can greatly decrease the use ofconventional pesticides, while crop yields remain high.9.6 The Views of Environmental Protection Agency and the Policyof Most Developing CountriesThe view of the EPA at national and inter national levels is not to supportthe use of synthetic pesticides. These views have made some advancedand developed countries to promulgate laws against the usage of some ofthese synthetic pesticides. In Nigeria, the body vested with the authorityof pesticides registration and control is the National Agency for Food andDrug Adminstration and Control (NAFDAC) (Olaifa, 2009). Despite this,some pesticides such as DDT and some mercuric-based pesticides, whichhad been banned from use due to the residue left on crops for consumptionand because they constitute a health hazard, are still found in pesticidesmarkets. The presence of heavy metals in most pesticides have causeduntold hardship and death to the consumer of the crops on which it has beenused.Most of the developing countries have formulated various policieson the usage of the synthetic pesticides. The policy emanated from theeffect which the pesticides have unleashed on the crops due to theirphyto toxicity, mammalian toxicity and carcinogenic effects on both thecrops and man.In 1994, the Botanical Pesticides and Pollution Prevention Division wasestablished in the Office of Pesticide Programmes to facilitate the registrationof botanical pesticides. This division promotes the use of safer pesticides,including botanical pesticides, as components of IPM programmes. The divisionalso coordinates the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Programme(PESP).Since botanical pesticides tend to pose fewer risks than conventionalpesticides, the EPA generally requires much less data to register a botanicalpesticide than to register a conventional pesticide. In fact, new botanical pesticidesare often registered in less than a year, compared with an average ofmore than 3 years for conventional pesticides.While botanical pesticides require less data and are registered in lesstime than conventional pesticides, the EPA always conducts rigorous reviewsto ensure that pesticides will not have adverse effects on human health or theenvironment. For the EPA to be sure that a pesticide is safe, the agencyrequires that registrants submit a variety of data about the composition,toxicity, degradation and other characteristics of the pesticide.