Botanical pesticide production, trade and regulatory mechanisms in sub-Saharan Africa: making a case for plant-based pesticidal products

Plant-derived Antibacterial Metabolites Suppressing Tomato Bacterial Wilt Caused by Ralstonia solanacearum

“…Most recent studies that revealed plant-derived products and metabolites showing potent antibacterial activity against RSSC were conducted in in vitro tests or in potted plants, but not in fields. Additionally, several problems such as the limitation of information available on application, efficacy and safety of most of botanical products, and the narrow range of formulation types and antimicrobial spectra should still be overcome for the development of commercial products using botanicals (Sola et al, 2014). Therefore, future areas of interest consist of field trials to assess the practical applicability of the botanical pesticides, development of optimized fomulations with enhanced activity, and biosafety studies to ascertain their toxicity to humans, animals and crop plants.…”

“…However, very few natural plant products have been developed from screening programs on a commercial scale (Pretorius and van der Watt, 2011). Only a handful of pesticidal plant products have been successfully used on a commercial scale; they constitute a very small percentage (<0.1%) of total pesticide products (Glare et al, 2012;Isman, 2006;Sola et al, 2014). Pyrethrum, rotenone, neem, and essential oils are the four major types of botanical pesticide products currently used to control plant diseases.…”

Pesticidal Plants in African Agriculture: Local Uses and Global Perspectives

“…In Africa wide-scale uptake of pesticidal plants remains limited despite its historic and global role in the production of pyrethrum. We reviewed the sector in Africa and found that the reasons were complex and related to a lack of data on efficacy and safety, inconsistent efficacy of plant products, the prohibitive cost of registration, and an inadequately developed conventional pesticides sector (Sola et al 2014). Regulations and protocols for production, marketing and trade may benefit from further review if Africa is to capitalise on its strengths of existing widespread use of pesticidal plants at the small holder level and the many endemic plant species with confirmed pesticidal properties.…”

The Toxicity, Persistence and Mode of Actions of Selected Botanical Pesticides in Africa against Insect Pests in Common Beans, &lt;i&gt;P. vulgaris&lt;/i&gt;: A Review

“…Also, synthetic pesticides and their metabolites have high persistence in soil, water and crops themselves and therefore affect environment and the health of human being during preparation, application and the consumption of crops. These constraints of synthetic pesticides have led to increased interest in the application of botanical pesticides for crop protection in the field and during storage [5].…”

“…This review paper concentrates on common practices used to control insect pests of common beans, the toxicity, persistence, and mode of action of some of active ingredients of botanical pesticides including Tephrosia vogelii, Vernonia amygdalina, Tithonia diversifolia and Lantana camara, Neem, Azadirachta indica and pyrethrum, Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium as the alternatives of controlling common bean insect pests in the farmers' field, and in storage rooms and increase the possibility of safe food and environmental friendly farming and storage practices [5].…”