Abstract
Crop pest management in agriculture is important to safeguard crop yield and increase productivity. The need for sustainable and eco-friendly pest management practices is strongly felt with the increasing awareness of the harmful effects of the synthetic insecticides on the non- target organisms, humans and the environment. The demand for bio-pesticides is rising steadily in all parts of the world. Therefore, the current study was carried out with the objectives to review, note and have the know-how all about microbial bio-pesticides and their use in pest management program. When used in integrated pest management systems, bio-pesticides efficacy can be equal to or better than conventional products, especially for crops like fruits, vegetables, nuts and flowers. Microbial bio-pesticides can be smart inputs and components in integrated pest management program. By combining performance and safety, they perform efficaciously while providing the flexibility of minimum application restrictions, superior residue and resistance management potential, and human and environmental safety benefits. It is very likely that in future their role will be more significant in agriculture and forestry. Bio-pesticides clearly have a potential role to play in development of future integrated pest management strategies hopefully, more rational approach will be gradually adopted towards bio-pesticides including microbial bio-pesticides in the near future and short-term profits from chemical pesticides will not determine the fate of bio-pesticides.
Highlights
Crop pest management in agriculture is important to safeguard crop yield and increase productivity
Microbial pesticides are Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering 2020; 5(1): 26-34 considered promising alternatives to chemical pesticides, and have opened up new vistas in insect pest management to aid in the promotion of safe, eco-friendly pest management
Research pertaining to the development of microbial pesticides in India has focused on the identification of virulent isolates for effective management of the target pests
Summary
The damage and destruction inflicted on crops by pests have had a serious impact on farming and agricultural practices in the world. These pests include insects, fungi, weeds, viruses, nematodes, animals and birds. Pesticides based on microorganisms and their products have proven to be highly effective, species specific and eco-friendly in nature, leading to their adoption in pest management strategies around the world. The microbial bio-pesticide market constitutes about 90% of total bio-pesticides and there is ample scope for further development in agriculture and public health, there are challenges as well. Out of all the bio-pesticides used today, microbial bio-pesticides constitute the largest group of broad-spectrum bio-pesticides, which are pest specific (i.e., do not target non-pest species and are environmentally benign). Microbial bio-pesticide registrations are increasing globally, the expansion of various technologies has increased the scope for more products and the change in the trend to develop microbial products is definitely on the rise [6, 7]
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