Biopesticides for sustainable agriculture
About this ebook
(Society for Invertebrate Pathology Newsletter)
With increasing concern about the environmental impact of synthetic pesticide use, including their impact on beneficial insects, the problem of insect resistance and the lack of new products, there has been an increasing interest in developing alternative biopesticides to control insects and other pests. This collection reviews the wealth of research on identifying, developing, assessing and improving the growing range of biopesticides.
Part 1 of this collection reviews research on developing new biopesticides in such areas as screening new compounds, ways of assessing effectiveness in the field and improving regulatory approval processes. Part 2 summarises advances in different types of entomopathogenic biopesticide including entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes and the use of Bt genes in insect-resistant crops. Part 3 assesses the use of semiochemicals such as pheromones and allelochemicals, peptide-based and other natural substance-based biopesticides.
About the author
Professor Nick Birch is a former Senior Research Entomologist at the internationally-renowned James Hutton Research Institute, UK. He has been involved in a range of EU and other international IPM research, is Visiting Professor at the University of Idaho (USA) and an Honorary Professor at the Natural Resources Institute – University of Greenwich (UK). He has written widely on such topics as the role of on-farm biodiversity in promoting pest predators in IPM.
Professor Travis Glare is CEO of Lincoln Agritech Ltd. and Professor of Applied Entomology at Lincoln University, New Zealand. He has an international reputation and has published widely in the field of entomopathogenic microbes and use of biopesticides. He has worked on a range of international projects to develop novel biopesticides.
