Biopesticides Handbook

Biopesticides are certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. Agricultural pesticides, properly used, are essential in supplying the food requirements of the world ever growing population. The use of synthetic pesticides affects the health of human being. The indiscriminate use of pesticides has adversely affected the health of the soil. The residual pesticides in the soil not only affect the soil quality but also the water quality, as they get leached into the ground water. Due to these reasons, role of biopesticides are very important for sustainable agriculture. The use of biopesticides for sustainable agriculture is a complex issue that at times is difficult to comprehend and plan. Biopesticides are usually inherently less toxic than conventional pesticides. They generally affect only the target pest and closely related organisms, in contrast to broad spectrum, conventional pesticides that may affect organisms as different as birds, insects, and mammals. They often are effective in very small quantities and often decompose quickly, thereby resulting in lower exposures and largely avoiding the pollution problems caused by conventional pesticides. Biopesticides, key components of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes, are receiving much practical attention as a means to reduce the load of synthetic chemical products being used to control plant diseases. In most cropping systems, biological pesticides should not necessarily be viewed as wholesale replacements for chemical control of plant pests and diseases, but rather as a growing category of efficacious supplements that can be used as rotation agents to retard the onset of resistance to chemical pesticides and improve sustainability. In organic cropping systems, biopesticides can represent valuable tools that further supplement the rich collection of cultural practices that ensure against crop loss to diseases. Some of the examples of biopesticides are triazino benzimidazol, thiophene sar, pyrazoles, hydroxyacetophenones, benzoylphenylureas, thiadiazolo S triazine etc. It is observed that India occupies a comparatively better position in the arena of biopesticides; in terms of growth of usage, percentage share of the total pesticide market and also in research publications. The driving forces behind this progress are identified as huge research infrastructure (universities and bio control labs) and favourable public support system/policies. Subsequently, it delves on strategies to incorporate the promotion of biopesticides into rural development efforts like recognition of the huge traditional knowledge base and use of biopesticides developed using indigenous technologies. Some of the fundamentals of the book are synthesis of triazino benzimidazol as 1 biopesticides, synthesis and pesticidal activities of thiadiazolo S triazine and imidazol, synthesis and antimicrobial activities of pyrazoles, effects of penconazole on plasma membrane, metabolism of diclofop methyl , bleaching herbicides stimulate maize HMGR activity, soil transformation of acetochlor, propanil degrading amidase activity, inhibition of BTX B binding by RH 3421, KDR type resistance in German cockroach etc. This is the first book of its kind which provides different parameters for manufacturing of biopesticides. The book will not only be resourceful for new entrepreneurs but will also help the technocrats, research scholars and those who willing to know more about biopesticides.