Challenge of Utilization Vegetal Extracts as Natural Plant Protection Products

Daniela Suteu,Lacramioara Rusu,Carmen Zaharia,Gabriel Daraban,Marinela Badeanu

doi:10.3390/app10248913

Daniela Suteu, Lacramioara Rusu + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/app10248913

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Abstract

Natural plant protection products (known as biopesticides), derived from natural materials (plants, bacterial strains, and certain minerals) that can be used to control pests, are an alternative to plant protection chemicals (known as pesticides) due to certain advantages: less toxic to humans and the environment, no release/leaching of harmful residues, and usually much specific to the target pests. This review focuses on the systematization of information highlighting the main advantages related to the natural plant protection products used, the extractive methods of obtaining them, their physical-chemical analysis methodology, the specific constituents responsible for their pesticide effects, the mechanisms of action, and methods for direct application on vegetable crops or on seeds stored in warehouses, in order to eliminate the adverse effects occurred in the case of plant protection chemicals use. Special attention has been accorded to natural plant protection products from the spontaneous flora of Moldova (Romania’s macroeconomic region NE), which can be considered a resource of valuable secondary metabolites, especially in the form of vegetable essential oils, with biological effects and biopesticide routes of action. All presented information concludes that biopesticides can successfully replace the chemical plant protection products on small farms and especially in silos (seeds and cereals).

Highlights

Ensuring food needs for a numerically growing population in certain geographic areas of the world has stimulated the use of natural plant protection products in agriculture because of their role in increasing the productivity of crops and protecting them from the action of certain pests [1,2].In agriculture, the action of the pest manifests both during the development of the crop and in the post-harvest period
It started from the classical ones to modern variants or unconventional ones or more recent date methods entitled “green extraction techniques”, which use modern solvents to extract the active principles of the plant
Plant protection chemicals were initially used to increase agricultural productivity, to control pests and infectious diseases, and to eliminate parasitic vegetation, their negative effects have been shown to be cumulative over time, meaning increased risks vis-à-vis the health of living beings, and a series of negative effects on the environment, counterbalancing the benefits associated with their use

Summary

Introduction

The action of the pest manifests both during the development of the crop and in the post-harvest period (during transport, or storage). For this reason, the manufacturing of chemical plant protection products (known as pesticides) has been and is still closely related to certain branches of science such as biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, as well as those of the agricultural sector. The use of chemical plant protection products has led to increased productivity in agriculture mainly due its efficient action against the unwanted vegetation and removal of pests [2,3,4].

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