Biopesticide: An Environment Friendly Pest Management Strategy

摘要

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has forecasted the need to increase world food production by 70% in order to keep pace with the growing demand of food due to the ever-growing global population [1]. Increasing food production is the primary objective of all the countries, as the global population is expected to reach ~10 billion by 2050. Moreover, to feed the burgeoning global population, we need to produce more food an livelihood opportunities from reducing per capita arable land an water. To meet the food, feed and fodder requirements we have deployed intensive agriculture which uses green revolution technology. The green revolution technology has been characterized by excessive use of high yielding varieties, chemical fertilizers, pesticides an irrigation water. While the gain in agricultural production has been very impressive, the input intensive agriculture has resulted in sever: undesirable effects on the environment and the overall sustainability of the farming systems. Use of synthetic pesticides has severely affecte both the abiotic and biotic components of the environment. While the former is exemplified by pesticide residues in soil, air, water, food etc., the latter includes phytotoxicity, physiological deformities, diseases, mortality, population changes, genetic disorders, gene erosion, etc. in plant, mammal, avian, insect and other organisms. Entry of chemica pesticides into food chain and their bioaccumulation triggers several unforeseen consequences. However, in the conventional agriculture most of the weeds, pests, insects and diseases were controlled using natural and sustainable practices such as cultural, mechanical, an physical control strategies. Environmental safety and agricultura sustainability are equally important for survival on the Earth. This is where biopesticides come into the picture, which may be considered as one of the components required to protect the environment and render sustainability to the agricultural production.