Pest insects can damage agricultural crops, consume and/or damage harvested food, or transmit diseases to humans and animals. The past 30 years has witnessed a dramatic reemergence of epidemic vector-borne diseases throughout much of the world (Atkinson, 2010). Prior to the development and commercial success of synthetic insecticides in the mid-
1930s to 1950s, botanical insecticides were the foremost weapons against insect pests. The synthetic insecticides
(organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates and later the
pyrethroids and neonicotinoids) are characterized by efficacy, speed of action, ease of use, and low cost. Accordingly, they drove many natural control methods, such as using of
botanicals, predators, and parasitoids to near obscurity. Twenty years after synthetic insecticides were overzealously entrenched in ‘modern’ agricultural production; they induce widespread environmental contamination, toxicity to non-target organisms, development of resistance against insecticides, and negative effects on animal and human health (Pretty, 2009). Consequently, there is an urgent need to explore and utilize naturally occurring products for combating pests. |
