Botanical Pesticides: Use of Plants in pest management

Abstract

Plants play a vital role in human life since the beginning of life on earth. Plants are not only directly used as a feed and fodder for humans and animals but are also used as drugs, food additives, pesticides, in flavor and fragrances and dye and pigments. The plants produce compounds for their growth and development and also produce secondary metabolites which provide additional properties to plants. These secondary metabolites produced by plant are responsible for these activities. Plants as a whole or in extracts/fractions form have been used as pesticides for protection of plants since thousands of years. Pyrethrum, neem, rotenone are such plants which has been used in many cultures and traditions for crop protection since ages and hold relevance in today’s world as well. The plant extracts contain secondary metabolites which provide protection to plants against pests by either causing mortality of pests or act as repellent to them. They can also impact pests by causing anti-feedancy, toxicity, alters insects behavior during oviposition and mating and inhibition of progeny emergence in pests. Essential oils isolated from the plants have also pesticidal properties. Lemongrass essential oil, Citronella essential oils, Tea tree essential oils and Oregano essential oils are the commonly used essential oils against the pests. In this review, botanical pesticides are discussed and their role in pest management and their advantageous over synthetic pesticides in terms of biodegradability, posing no or low risk to humans, environment and non-target organisms. Also, the future of botanical pesticides is discussed where they can be an alternative to synthetic pesticides if more research is done on their stability, efficacy, safety, modes of action, cost reduction is done.