Use of botanical insecticides for sustainable agriculture: Future perspectives

Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed major growth in the use of agrochemicals worldwide, – for maximizing the food production for a rapidly growing human population. However, the indiscriminate use of these substances especially the pesticides has led to the accumulation of toxic residues in food, soil, air, and water, as well as the development of resistance in pests. Moreover, pesticides affect soil enzymes, which are essential catalysts that govern soil quality. In order to meet the food security, it is necessary to produce more food, sustainably and safely, in a diminishing area of available arable land and with decreased water resources. Given this situation, there is an increased interest in the use of alternative substances to synthetic agrochemicals that present less risk to the environment and human health while increasing the food safety. Promising results have been obtained using compounds derived from aromatic plants for the control of agricultural pests. Such compounds of botanical origin can be highly effective, with multiple mechanisms of action, while at the same time having low toxicity towards nontarget organisms. However, the large-scale application of these substances for pest control is limited by their poor stability and other technological issues. In this backdrop, the present work discusses perspectives for the use of compounds of botanical origin, as well as strategies employing the encapsulation techniques that can contribute to the development of systems for use in sustainable agricultural practices.