Botanical Pesticides For Pest Management

Description

“Botanicals are pesticides derived from plants. They are also called natural insecticides. They degrade rapidly and therefore are considered safer to the environment than the common synthetic chemicals. They are a coveted product for many organic farmers. However, as with any pesticide, botanicals must be used properly.
Natural pesticidal products are available as an alternative to synthetic chemical formulations but they are not necessarily less toxic to humans. Some of the most deadly, fast acting toxins and potent carcinogens occur naturally. Some botanical pesticides are very toxic to fish and other cold-blooded creatures and should be treated with care. Protective clothing should be worn when spraying, even though their toxicity is normally low to warm-blooded animals. In farms where crops are grown alongside the rearing of livestock, the impact of pesticides can lead to illness amongst the animals. Hence it is essential to take safeguards to prevent such situations.
The book explores the subject of pest management while shedding light on topics such as how to control pathogens in greenhouses, the potential benefits of GIS techniques, management of plant-parasitic nematodes in vegetable crops, biological control and IPM in protected crops, participatory approaches to encourage non-pesticide methods, the impact of diseases and pests on crop yield, etc. “