Status and Prospects of Botanical Biopesticides in Europe and Mediterranean Countries
Fatma Acheuk,
Shereen Basiouni,
Awad A. Shehata,
Katie Dick,
Haifa Hajri,
Salma Lasram,
Mete Yilmaz,
Mevlüt Emekci,
George Tsiamis,
Marina Spona-Friedl,
Helen May-Simera,
Wolfgang Eisenreich,
Spyridon Ntougias
Affiliations
Fatma Acheuk
Laboratory for Valorization and Conservation of Biological Resources, Faculty of Sciences, University M’Hamed Bougara of Boumerdes, Boumerdes 35000, Algeria
Laboratory of Molecular Physiology of Plants, Borj-Cedria Biotechnology Center, BP. 901, Hammam-Lif 2050, Tunisia
Salma Lasram
Laboratory of Molecular Physiology of Plants, Borj-Cedria Biotechnology Center, BP. 901, Hammam-Lif 2050, Tunisia
Mete Yilmaz
Department of Bioengineering, Bursa Technical University, Bursa 16310, Turkey
Mevlüt Emekci
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University, Keçiören, Ankara 06135, Turkey
George Tsiamis
Laboratory of Systems Microbiology and Applied Genomics, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Patras, 2 Seferi St, 30100 Agrinio, Greece
Marina Spona-Friedl
Bavarian NMR Center, Structural Membrane Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85747 Garching, Germany
Helen May-Simera
Institute of Molecular Physiology, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Wolfgang Eisenreich
Bavarian NMR Center, Structural Membrane Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85747 Garching, Germany
Spyridon Ntougias
Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Vas. Sofias 12, 67132 Xanthi, Greece
Concerning human and environmental health, safe alternatives to synthetic pesticides are urgently needed. Many of the currently used synthetic pesticides are not authorized for application in organic agriculture. In addition, the developed resistances of various pests against classical pesticides necessitate the urgent demand for efficient and safe products with novel modes of action. Botanical pesticides are assumed to be effective against various crop pests, and they are easily biodegradable and available in high quantities and at a reasonable cost. Many of them may act by diverse yet unexplored mechanisms of action. It is therefore surprising that only few plant species have been developed for commercial usage as biopesticides. This article reviews the status of botanical pesticides, especially in Europe and Mediterranean countries, deepening their active principles and mechanisms of action. Moreover, some constraints and challenges in the development of novel biopesticides are highlighted.
