Plant metabolites: an alternative and sustainable approach towards post harvest pest management in pulses.

Abstract

Grain legumes are an important source of proteins in vegetarian diet besides their role in biological nitrogen fixation. They are prone to heavy pest infestation both on and off the field. Pest associated losses are an important contributing factor towards declining per capita availability of grain legumes. Synthetic chemical pesticides have played an important role in crop preservation, however their incessant use has posed several environmental and human health concerns. Methyl bromide and phosphine are commonly used for the post harvest preservation of grain legumes. However, the former has to be phased out by 2015 as per the Montreal protocol whereas the latter is showing development of resistance to it by the insects. In the light of this, alternative, safer and sustainable strategies are needed for crop protection. Plants can serve as a rich source of bioactive chemicals for this purpose. Both primary as well as secondary metabolites can be evaluated against the target pests. The paper reviews the status of research in the area of use of plant metabolites in post harvest pest management of grain legumes.