The increasing concern over the level of pesticide residues in food has encouraged researchers to look for alternatives of synthetic pesticides. Their indiscriminate use has led to the development of resistant strains of pests as well as different environmental and human health problems. Recently, in different parts of the world, attention has been paid towards exploitation of higher plant prod...

In India, the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is an important pest of cruciferous vegetables and causes severe economic losses. This pest has ability to evolve resistance in laboratory and field to almost all groups of synthetic insecticides. Despite of these, management with synthetic insecticides has been considered to be the easy and favorable option by...

The European Union has made very clear political decisions to increase environmental awareness. A Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides was launched by the Commission of the European Communities in 2006. It was decided to minimize the hazards and risks to health and the environment caused by the use of plant protection products. In 2009, the European Parliament accepted a new f...

Pest management is being confronted with immense economic and environmental issues worldwide because of massive utilization over-reliance on pesticides. The non-target toxicity, residual consequence, challenging biodegradability these synthetic pesticides have become a serious concern, which urgently requires the alternative prompt adoption sustainable cost-effective pest control measures. Incr...

Fish and other organisms are affected by pesticides which pollute the natural water through agricultural runoff. The aim of this study was to determine the acute toxicity of botanical pesticide, neem gold, and two synthetic pesticides, permethrin and monocrotophos, which are extensively used in agricultural farms. The mortality rate of Cyprinus carpio was monitored under laboratory conditions f...

Globally, 1031 species of arthropods are associated with the intensively managed tea Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze monoculture. All parts of the plant, leaf, stem, root, flower, and seed, are fed upon by at least one pest species, resulting in an 11%-55% loss in yield if left unchecked. There has been heavy use of organosynthetic pesticides since the 1950s to defend the plant against these p...

The plant kingdom is by far the most efficient producer of chemical compounds, synthesising many products that are used in defence against herbivores. Extracts made from some plants, particularly extracts from plants within the Meliaceae (mahogany) family, have been shown to have insecticidal properties. We investigated the potential of these extracts and the possibility of integrating botanica...

Many plant extracts or allelochemicals show a broad spectrum of activity against pests and such products have long been touted as attractive alternatives to synthetic chemical pesticides for pest management because they pose little threat to the environment or to human health. The studies available suggest that plant-based materials do affect arthropod pests, vectors and other pathogens, yet on...