Dependence upon neurotoxic chemicals as a means to control pest insects has lead to several problems: environmental hazards associated with broad-spectrum pesticides, negative impacts on non-target organisms such as natural enemies and pollinators, and the development of resistance to these chemicals among target species. Researchers have sought alternatives to these types of pesticides, looking to naturally occurring substances with multifactor selective pressures that will reduce the build-up of resistance.
One particular area of study concerns feeding deterrence. Most plant defense...

IPM Systems need to be developed for agriculture to be economically and environmentally strong, in production, storage and food processing. Although the concept and philosophy of integrated pest management have been largely accepted for some time, its implementation is complex and faces numerous potential problems. If IPM is to enjoy widespread approval and adoption, it must be clearly defined and economically and socially acceptable. The topics covered in this book include a range of topics, such as risk-benefit analysis, transgenic crops in IPM and consumer response to IPM.

The chemicals from plant sources, generally termed as phytochemicals, play an important role in acceptance or rejection of the plant by the pests as they could be distasteful or toxic on one hand or on the other hand specialist herbivores have the capability to feed on many such chemicals, as they are able to process these natural products in a manner that is beneficial to them. In the wake of increasing environmental degradation due to burgeoning synthetic chemicals, there has been a process going on to rediscover the usefulness of plants and herbs and a continued effort for more than 2...

The first section of this volume covers chemistry and biological activity of major classes of naturally occurring pesticides, including the development of more potent insecticides based on natural lead-in structures. The second section consists of monographs on each compound by product.

This volume presents the advances made on phytochemcial biopesticides, covering behavioural, chemical, biochemical and molecular levels of the field.

This book gives an overview of the current applications for neem, discusses the position of this product in the global market and the opportunities to promote it as an environmentally-friendly pesticide.
In this volume, renowned experts present a global overview of neem applications, efficacy and risk assessment. Topics include the history of the use of neem-based insecticides in North America and Europe, including grower's response and local differences in legislation. In this context, the current position of neem amongst other natural pesticides is discussed. The comprehensive overview...

Naturally occurring toxins are among the most complicated and lethal in existence. Plant species, microorganisms and marine flora and fauna produce hundreds of toxic compounds for defense and to promote their chances of survival, and these can be isolated and appropriated for our own use. Many of these toxins have yet to be thoroughly described, despite being studied for years.

Focusing on the natural toxins that are purely toxic to insects, this book contains over 500 chemical structures. It discusses the concepts and mechanisms involved in toxicity, bioassay procedures for...