New Biopesticides for IPM and Organic Production

Phaseout of the fumigant methyl bromide, restrictions on organophosphates, environmental problems with neonicotinoids and pyrethroids, pest resistance, and the exponential growth of organic agriculture has created a market for alternatives (Weston et al. 2004; Moran 2010; Quarles 2011ab; 1993a). Beneficial nematodes, Bacillus thuringiensis (BT), and a large array of fungi, viruses, and bacteria have been developed for greenhouse, turf, field crop, orchard and garden use (Grewal et al. 2005; EPA 2006; Butt et al. 2001; Hom 1996). Microbials are available for treatment of soil, foliar, and postharvest plant pathogens, pest nematodes, herbivorous insects, mosquitoes, structural pests, and weeds. Biocontrol microbials, their pesticidal metabolic products, and other pesticides based on living organisms are classified as biopesticides by the EPA. There are hundreds of registered products (EPA 2013). Biopesticides do not pose the same regulatory problems seen with chemical pesticides. They are often target-specific, benign to beneficial insects, do not pose air or water quality problems, and crops can be reentered soon after treatment. Naturally occurring microbials can be used in organic production, and human health risks are low. As an added advantage, many pests are not resistant to their effects (EPA 2006; Goettel et al. 2001). Many of the products were developed by small companies, but large companies such as Bayer, Syngenta, and Novozymes have realized the commercial potential, and a flurry of acquistions has occurred within the last year. To find a supplier of a product reviewed here, look in Table 1 or Resources. Hundreds of efficacy studies are available in the published literature, and a few of these are cited in the References. To keep this article to a manageable size, beneficial nematodes and BT products will not be discussed here. Microbial metabolites such as spinosad and the avermectins were reviewed earlier (Quarles 1991; 2005c).