Biopesticide - Examples

Examples

Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterial disease of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Diptera, is a well-known insecticide example. Because it has little effect on other organisms, it is considered more environmentally friendly than synthetic pesticides. The toxin from B. thuringiensis (Bt toxin) has been incorporated directly into plants through the use of genetic engineering.

Other microbial control agents include products based on:

• entomopathogenic fungi (e.g.Beauveria bassiana, Lecanicillium spp., Metarhizium spp.),
• plant disease control agents: include Trichoderma spp. and Ampelomyces quisqualis (a hyper-parasite of grape powdery mildew); Bacillus subtilis is also used to control plant pathogens.
• beneficial nematodes attacking insect (e.g. Steinernema feltiae) or slug (e.g. Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) pests
• entomopathogenic viruses (e.g.. Cydia pomonella granulovirus).
• weeds and rodents have also been controlled with microbial agents.

Various naturally occurring materials, including fungal and plant extracts, have been described as biopesticides. Products in this category include:

• Insect pheromones and other semiochemicals
• Fermentation products such as Spinosad (a macro-cyclic lactone)
• Chitosan: a plant in the presence of this product will naturally induce systemic resistance (ISR) to allow the plant to defend itself against disease, pathogens and pests.
• Biopesticides may include natural plant-derived products, which include alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolics and other secondary chemicals. Certain vegetable oils such as canola oil are known to have pesticidal properties. Products based on extracts of plants such as garlic have now been registered in the EU and elsewhere.
• Naturally occurring minerals such as baking soda may also have pesticidal applications.