Abstract
Sustainable methods to control insect pests that affect crop yield have become a great challenge to mainly smallholder farmers. Beneficial insects in agricultural fields play an important role in natural pest control and pollination. The use of synthetic and botanical pesticides has detrimental effects to both natural enemies and pollinators in agricultural fields. The pesticides affect the survival of a range of life cycle stages, reductions in reproductive capacity, changes in the suitability of hosts for parasitising or predation, reduced emergence of parasitoids from sprayed host eggs and cause direct mortality. This has caused a serious menace to biological control agents and pollinators. When natural enemies are reduced, even more serious consequences may result for pest population dynamics which include the phenomena of resurgence and eruption of secondary pests. The decrease in pollinators reduces agricultural productivity. This review aims at exploring the side effects of synthetic and botanical pesticides on beneficial insects to give the basis for research on the negative impacts of synthetic and botanical pesticides on these insects. This information will assist in optimizing the use of pesticides in integrated pest management programmes by employing more sustainable and ecosystem benign practices such as the use of right dosage and selective pesticides in agricultural fields.
Highlights
In agricultural/ecological context, insects can be grouped into beneficial or non-beneficial
This review aims at documenting the impacts of synthetic and botanical pesticides on beneficial insects
This will provide the basis for research on the side effects of synthetic and botanical pesticides and develop practices that will help to prevent these effects on non-targeted beneficial insects
Summary
In agricultural/ecological context, insects can be grouped into beneficial or non-beneficial (pests). Most available field crop synthetic insecticides have broad spectrum activity which kill both beneficial insects and pests. Broad-spectrum synthetic insecticides include the organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. [5] reported that basically, pesticidal plants have the active ingredients similar to synthetic pesticides and they can cause the negative impacts to non-target natural enemies and pollinators. Synthetic pesticides when applied kill other non-targeted organisms such as natural predators and parasites of the pests and organisms that are beneficial to health and balance of the ecosystem [8]. There is limited understanding of the impacts of botanical and synthetic pesticides on natural enemies and pollinators in most of sub-Saharan Africa. This review aims at documenting the impacts of synthetic and botanical pesticides on beneficial insects. This will provide the basis for research on the side effects of synthetic and botanical pesticides and develop practices that will help to prevent these effects on non-targeted beneficial insects
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