Recent Advances in Our Knowledge of Baculovirus Molecular Biology and Its Relevance for the Registration of Baculovirus-Based Products for Insect Pest Population Control

Public demand for safer, environmentally-benign alternatives to synthetic chemical pesticides and more stringent barriers put in place by regulatory agencies worldwide has led to increased interest in microbial pest control agents (MPCA) based on viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes as the active ingredient. The MPCA market has recently experienced an increase of 47% between 2004/2007 with sales worth $396 million in 2007/2008 (CPL Consultants, 2010). Despite this increase, the microbial biopesticide market still only represents about 1% of the sales of chemical pesticides (CPL Consultants, 2010; Marrone, 2007). Factors impeding the establishment of strong MPCA markets are complex (Chandler et al., 2011; Marrone, 2007; Ravensberg, 2011) but include the burdensome costs associated with the registration of commercial products that are aimed at relatively small niche markets (Chandler et al., 2011; Ehlers, 2011). The main priority of regulatory agencies is to protect human health and safety and the environment from potential risks associated with the use of pest control products. A common feature of MPCA registration processes around the world is that they grew out of registration processes designed for chemical pesticides with adjustments allowing for the reduced risks of MCPAs (Chandler et al., 2011; Ehlers, 2011). Even though public attitudes to the use of biological control agents has been favourable (63%) a large proportion of the public (46%) has expressed concerns about the consumption of food treated with microbial pesticides (Cuddleford, 2006).