Icar Technologies Biopesticides FOR ECO-FRIENDLY PEST MANAGEMENT

Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides post
green revolution taught us a tough lesson that sustainable utilization of
the resources is the way forward for prolonged growth in agricultural
production sans deterioration of soil health. Just as biofertilizers are
emerging as green alternative to chemical fertilizers, biopesticides
have a huge role to play in sustainable management of crop pests
and pathogens. In contrast to chemical pesticides, application of
ecofriendly biopesticides does not lead to development of any
resistance in pests and pathogens. Still this sustainable alternative is
struggling to find its place in the market over its chemical counterpart
owing to technological challenges and acceptance among the farming
community.
National Policy for Farmers (NPF), 2007, which aims to improve
economic viability of farming and increase net income of farmers,
strongly recommends the promotion of biopesticides. In spite of these
efforts the biopesticides represent only 4.2% of the overall pesticide
market in India compared to 40% in USA and 20% each in Europe
and Oceanic countries.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research, recognizing the
importance of biopesticides started All India Coordinated Research
Project (AICRP) on Biological control of Crop Pests and Weeds
way back in 1977. Since the inception of this project different
ICAR institutes accelerated the works on biocontrol and developed
biopesticides against a number of crop pests and diseases. At present
more than 970 biopesticide products have been registered with
Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC)
which is a governing body for insecticide registration in India. Most
biopesticide producing companies are dependent on either a single
strain or a handful of microbes for commercial production. Most ofthe times, the products developed using these strains have limited
application and their activity range is narrow. To overcome this issue,
there should be many bioagents available that are active against a
wide range of pests and pathogens. Once there is availability of many
bioagents to select upon, the challenges faced by biopesticides in the
market can be handled well.
This compendium entitled ?ICAR Technologies: Biopesticides
for Eco-friendly Pest Management? is a compilation of microbial
formulations developed by ICAR against crop pests and pathogens
that are at various stages of registration and commercialization. It can
be a useful source of information for students, researchers, scientists,
entrepreneurs and most importantly farming community and policy
makers.