Infochemicals: An effective and environment friendly management of insect pests for sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Chemical signals and cues have been collectively called semiochemicals or infochemicals referring to “a chemical substance, which in a natural context, is implicated in the transfer of information from one individual to other that results certain behavioral and physiological changes in response in one or both. Infochemicals that mediate interactions between members of the same species are collectively referred to as pheromones, and can be classified as sex pheromone, aggregation pheromone, alarm pheromone, trail marking pheromone on the basis of their functions etc. Allelochemicals are also infochemicals which cause an insect to respond interspecifically. They include a more number of chemicals than pheromones, and can be grouped into: allomones, kairomones, apneumones and synomones. The idea of infochemicals using for management of insect pests in agricultural, horticultural, forestry and storage has been a driving ambition through few decades of pheromone research. Several chemicals have been identified from insects that can be used in monitoring of native and invasive pest and also to protect the plants against herbivores. They can also be used as mass trapping, annihilation, and behavior manipulation of insect in host finding. Since these compounds are species specific, highly biodegradable and require in minute quantity, they could be exploited as green alternative to insecticides for ecofriendly management of insect pest for sustaining agriculture growth.