United States Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service research on natural products for pest management

Abstract

Recent research of the Agricultural Research Service of USDA on the use of natural products to manage pests is summarized. Studies of the use of both phytochemicals and diatomaceous earth to manage insect pests are discussed. Chemically characterized compounds, such as a saponin from pepper (Capsicum frutescens L), benzaldehyde, chitosan and 2-deoxy-D-glucose are being studied as natural fungicides. Resin glycosides for pathogen resistance in sweet potato and residues of semi-tropical leguminous plants for nematode control are also under investigation. Bioassay-guided isolation of compounds with potential use as herbicides or herbicide leads is underway at several locations. New natural phytotoxin molecular target sites (asparagine synthetase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase) have been discovered. Weed control in sweet potato and rice by allelopathy is under investigation. Molecular approaches to enhance allelopathy in sorghum are also being undertaken. The genes for polyketide synthases involved in production of pesticidal polyketide compounds in fungi are found to provide clues for pesticide discovery. Gene expression profiles in response to fungicides and herbicides are being generated as tools to understand more fully the mode of action and to rapidly determine the molecular target site of new, natural fungicides and herbicides.

Phenolics and antifungal activities analysis in industrial crop Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) leaves

“…However, the key was a narrow selective spectrum of inhibition (Boonyakiat, 1983). For example, chlorogenic acid inhibited Penicillium expansum, Fusarium oxysporum and Mucor piriformis, but slightly stimulated the growth of B. cinerea (Duke et al, 2003). Hence, the antifungal activities of the n-butanol sub-fractions of Jerusalem artichoke leaf extract may be due to interplay between the structure and function, which deserves further study.…”

“…Caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid were also used to inhibit Listeria monocytogenes and Legionella pneumophila (Furuhata et al, 2002). Caffeic, chlorogenic, isochlorogenic and p-coumaric acids were also found to be inhibitory to rootrotting fungi in vitro, while ferulic acid directly inhibited Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Duke et al, 2003;Martínez, 2012).…”

Pesticides of Botanical Origin: a Promising Tool in Plant Protection

“…www.intechopen.com of hydrophilic carbohydrates provide them with surfactant properties, but they possess also significant antifeedant, fungicidal and nematicidal properties (Chitwood, 2002;Koul, 2008;Duke et al, 2003;D'Addabbo et al, 2006;Ribera et al, 2008;Martin & Magunacelaya, 2005). Saponins disrupt also membranes (Majak, 1992).…”

Evaluation of Plant Extracts on Mortality and Tunneling Activities of Subterranean Termites in Pakistan

“…Various experiments using plant extracts in human and animal health protection, agriculture and household pest management have been particularly promising (Pascual-Villalobos & Robledo, 1999;Scott et al, 2004). The apparent societal hope for using plant extracts in place of more traditional pesticides has also increased the attention paid to natural products in the past decade (Duke et al, 2003). Plant products have been exploited as insecticides, insect-repellents, antifeedants and insect growth and development regulators (Saxena, 1998).…”