OBJECTIVES An ecofriendly alternative to chemical pesticides is bio-pesticides, which are derived from natural sources. The interest in bio-pesticides is based on the disadvantages associated with chemical pesticides. METHODS We conducted acute toxicity assessments of camphor, a major component of bio-pesticides, by using Daphnia magna (D. magna) as well as assessed the morphological abnormal...

Paul Ehrlich is really Paul Revere. As he gallops verbally through our society, he warns us of the enemy rapidly approaching. The enemy, much more deadly than the British Redcoats, is in fact, global ecological catastrophe caused by the unbridled increase in the human population, the wanton and gluttonous utilization of the earth's precious and limited resources, and the careless despoliation o...

Biopesticides serve as second-hand biocontrol agents against harmful microbial growth and supplement organic pesticides in several agricultural systems. In the production of alternative controls for synthetic insecticides to kill insect pests, biotechnology may also condone them. Bacterial fungal such Ampelomyces quisqualis Trichoderma spp., (a control agent grape powdery mildew) Bacillus subti...

Despite constraining legislation and increasing efficiency of pesticides (with a decrease in the applied amounts), their use still cause a contamination of environment (air, soil and water). To conciliate agricultural and environmental interests, a better understanding of the fate of pesticides is needed, in particular because it will determine the exposure and consequently the impact of pestic...

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 2004/20...

Improper use of pesticides on food plants can result in significant toxicity. In spite of regulations, enforcement, and prior episodes of poisonings, poisonings from misapplication of pesticides continues to occur. The objective of this study was to present a case series of toxicity resulting from ingestion of watermelon inappropriately treated with the carbamate insecticide aldicarb. A restros...

In communities which consume rice as main food, importance of risk assessment forcontaminants is always taken into consideration by health authorities. The present study isan attempt for monitoring of 56 pesticides from different chemical groups in rice samplescollected from local markets in Tehran and estimation of daily intake of interested pesticidesthrough this monitoring. A valid method ba...

Centre for Animal Disease Research and Diagnosis, E-mail : [email protected] In the thirst of modernization and industrialization man has contributed pollution to the life and ecology of plants, animals and microbes. Increased demand for food and fiber has lead to the chemicalization of agriculture and we have reached on such a stage that modern agriculture is dependent on high yielding varie...