Biopesticide: A Safe Alternative To Chemical Pesticides

We all love to eat tasty food. However, it is also important to know if the so-called tasty food we consume is keeping us healthy.

The most popular and advisable healthy diet we can think of are fruits and vegetables, but are these fruits or vegetables really serving the purpose they are famous for?

Being a source of livelihood and food security for the nation, agriculture holds prime importance among the socio-economic factors of India .58% of the rural population is dependent on agriculture as their livelihood.

However, this sector has to face various challenges and overcome them to ensure sustainability. One of such critical challenges faced by agriculture is increasing pest attacks.

The increase in the number of pest attacks and the variety of pests attacking the field have increased with time.

These pest attacks pose a serious threat, causing damage to crops and, in turn, affecting the food security of the nation.

Every year in India pests and diseases eat away on an average 15-25% of food produced by the farmers.

These heavy losses incurred by farmers force them to use crop protectants, most of these crop protectants are synthesized chemically and are popularly known as ‘Pesticides’.

The pesticides include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, nematicides, rodenticides etc. Pesticides are chemicals that inhibit or kill pests.

Although pesticides have benefits, most of them also have drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other species and negative impact on the environment.

The pesticides that are sprayed on the crops are absorbed and accumulated by the plants while growing.

The controversy on the use and abuse of pesticides has surfaced due to their rampant use as it is generally believed by its users that “ If little is good, lot more will be better.”

So an alternate solution for these harmful substances has become the need of the hour. The alternative for these harmful chemicals is ‘Biopesticide.’

• Read: Microbes In Agriculture And Their Role In Plant Growth Promotion

As the name suggests, the solution to the problem is provided by nature itself. Bio-pesticides are new-age crop protectants manufactured from natural substances like plants, animals, bacteria, and certain minerals.

They are eco-friendly, easy to use, and have more potential than their chemical counterpart.

Biopesticides can be classified into 3 main types.

1. Biochemical pesticides – These are naturally occurring substances that control pests by non-toxic mechanisms, unlike pesticides that directly kill or inactivate pests. This substance interferes with mating, such as insect sex pheromones, as well as various scented plant extracts that attract insect pests to traps and natural insect regulators.
2. Microbial pesticides – consist of a microorganism (e.g., a bacterium, fungus, virus, or protozoan) as the active ingredient. Microbial pesticides can control many different kinds of pests, although each separate active ingredient is relatively specific for its target pest. For example, Trichoderma sp. Lecanicillium sp. Bacillus, Clostridium, Pseudomonas Nuclear polyhedrosis viruses (NPV).
3. Plant-incorporated- Protectants (PIPs) – are pesticidal substances that plants produce by themselves due to genetic material that has been inserted into the plant by genetic engineering. For example, gene addition for the Bacillus. Thuringenesis pesticidal protein into the plant’s own genetic material. Then, the plant manufactures the pesticidal substance that destroys the pest. The protein and its genetic material are regulated by EPA.

• Also Read: Microbes: Invisible Superheroes

Some Advantages of Biopesticides

• Inherently less toxic than conventional pesticides.
• Generally affects only the target pest and closely related organisms, thereby reducing risk to other species.
• Effective in very small quantities and often decomposes quickly, avoiding pollution problems.
• Reduces the use of conventional pesticides while maintaining a high crop yield.

Reference

Next Generation Indian Agriculture – Role of Crop Protection Solutions a report on Indian Agrochemical Industry July 2016 www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides