BIO-PESTICIDES

BIO-PESTICIDES
 Biopesticides are certain types of
pesticides derived from such natural
materials as animals, plants, bacteria,
and certain minerals.
 For example, canola oil and baking soda
have pesticidal applications and are
considered biopesticides
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AN IDEAL
BIOPESTICIDE
 A good biopesticide should be easily available in
the market and should not be expensive
 It should control only the specific target organism.
 It should be non-persistent.
 It should not be toxic to other living organisms.
 It should be biodegradable.
 CLASSES OF BIO-PESTICIDES
Biopesticides fall into 3 major classes:
1.BIO-CHEMICAL BIOPESTICIDES
 Biochemical pesticides are naturally occurring substances that control
pests by non-toxic mechanisms.
 Conventional pesticides, by contrast, are generally synthetic materials
that directly kill or inactivate the pest. B
 Biochemical pesticides include substances that interfere with mating,
such as insect sex pheromones, as well as various scented plant extracts
that attract insect pests to traps. Because it is sometimes difficult to
determine whether a substance meets the criteria for classification as a
biochemical pesticide, EPA has established a special committee to make
such decisions.
CLASSES OF BIOPESTICIDES
2.MICROBIAL BIOPESTICIDES
 Microbial pesticides consist of a microorganism (e.g., a bacterium,
fungus, virus or protozoan) as the active ingredient.
 Microbial pesticides can control many different kinds of pests, although
each separate active ingredient is relatively specific for its target
pest[s].
 For example, there are fungi that control certain weeds and other fungi
that kill specific insects.
 The most widely used microbial pesticides are subspecies and strains
of Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt. Each strain of this bacterium produces a
different mix of proteins and specifically kills one or a few related
species of insect larvae. While some Bt ingredients control moth larvae
found on plants, other Bt ingredients are specific for larvae of flies and
mosquitoes. The target insect species are determined by whether the
particular Bt produces a protein that can bind to a larval gut receptor,
thereby causing the insect larvae to starve.
CLASSES OF BIOPESTICIDES

3.PLANT INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS(PIPs)

 Plant-Incorporated-Protectants (PIPs) are pesticidal
substances that plants produce from genetic material
that has been added to the plant.
 For example, scientists can take the gene for the Bt
pesticidal protein and introduce the gene into the
plant's own genetic material. Then the plant, instead of
the Bt bacterium, manufactures the substance that
destroys the pest. The protein and its genetic material,
but not the plant itself, are regulated by EPA.
NEED OF BIOPESTICIDES
 Proper pest management is important factor for healthy
and high yielding crop to fulfill the food demand for
increasing population.
 Chemical pesticides have accelerated land, air and water
contamination.
 They have been the main cause of insect resistance as
well as adverse impacts on natural enemies and humans.
MICROBIAL BIOPESTICIDES
 Constitute the largest group of broad- spectrum
biopesticides which are pest specific.
 There are atleast 3000 naturally occurring insect- specific
microorganisms, 100 of which are insecticidal.
1. Bacterial biopesticides
2. Viral biopesticides
3. Fungal biopesticides
4. Protozoan biopesticides
BACTERIAL BIOPESTICIDES
 Mainly 4 categories:
1.Crystalliferous spore formers(Bacillus thuringiensis)
2.Obligate pathogens (Bacillus papiliae)
3.Potential pathogens (Serratia marcesens)
4.Facultative pathogens (Pseudomonas aeruginosa)
Bacillus thuringiensis
 GP, spore forming, facultative bacterium with nearly 100
subspecies and varieties divided into 70 serotypes.
 Specific, safe and effective tool for insect control.
 Insecticidal property resides in Cry family of crystalline
proteins that are produced in the parasporal crystals and
are encoded by the cry genes.
Bacillus thuringiensis-CRY PROTEIN
 Cry proteins are globular molecules with 3 structural
domain connected by single linkers.
 This 3 domain family is characterised by protoxins of two
different lengths, one being longer with C – terminal
extension necessary for toxicity.
 This extension also has a characteristic role in crystal
formation within the bacterium.
 Cry proteins are responsible for feeding cessation and
death of the insect.
Bacillus thuringiensis-MECHANISM
 Cry protoxins are ingested and then solubilised, releasing a protease
resistant biologically active endotoxin, before it is being digested by
protease of the gut to remove amino acids from its C and N terminal
ends.
 The C terminal domain of the active toxin binds to the specific
receptors on brush border membranes of the midgut.
 It is followed by the insertion of the hydrophobic region of the toxin
into the cell membrane.
 This creates a disruption in the osmotic balance because of the
formation of transmembrane pores.
 Ultimately cell lysis occurs in the gut wall leading to leakage of gut
contents.
 This induces starvation and lethal septicaemia of the target pest.
VIRAL BIO-PESTICIDES
 The viruses used for pest control are:
1.DNA containing baculoviruses (BVs)- Nucleopolyhedrosis viruses (NPVs)
2. Granuloviruses (GVs)- Acoviruses
3. Parvoviruses – Poly DNA viruses
4. Pox viruses-RNA containing Recoviruses
5. Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis viruses- Noda viruses
6. Picorna like viruses -Tetraviruses
 They are narrow spectrum.
 After application to plant surface, baculovirus occlusion bodies (OBs) are
rapidly inactivated by solar UV radiation (280 – 320nm).
 Efficacy can be improved by the use of formulations that include stilbene
derived optical brighteners, which increase susceptibility to NPV infection.
 UV inactivation can be controlled by creating systems which filter UV
radiation such as plastic greenhouse structures.
MECHANISM OF VIRAL PESTICIDE
 Replication of virus occurs in the nuclei or cytoplasm of the target cell.
 The expression of viral proteins occurs in 3 phases:
1. Early phase :0-6 hr post infection
2. Late phase :6-24 hr post infection
3. Very late phase :upto 72 hr post infection
 It is at the late phase that the virions assemble as the 29kDa occlusion
body protein is synthesized.
 Virions of NPVs are occluded within each occlusion body to develop polyhedra
whereas the GV virion is occluded in a small occlusion body to generate
granules.
 Infected nuclei can produce 100s of polyhedra and 1000s of granules per cell.
 These can create enzootics, deplete the pest populations and ultimately
create significant impact on the economic threshold of the pest.
FUNGAL BIO-PESTICIDES
 Fungi specifically associated with insects (aphids, thrips,
mealy bugs, whiteflies, scale insects, mosquitoes and
mites) are known as entomopathogenic fungi. • Obligate
or facultative, commensals or symbionts of insects.
 Belong to 4 major groups:
1. Laboulbeniales
2. Pyrenomycetes
3. Hyphomycetes
4. Zygomycetes
FUNGAL BIOPESTICIDES
 Most widely used species include:
1. Beauveria bassiana
2. Metarhizium anisopliae
3. Nomurea rileyi
4. Paecilomyces farinosus
5. Verticillium lecanii
 The fungi attack the host via integument or gut epithelium and establish their conidia in the
joints and the integument.
 B. bassania and M. anisiphliae causes muscardine insect disease and after killing the host,
cadavers become mumified or covered by mycelial growth.
 Streptomycetes produce toxins.
 Most active toxins are actinomycin A, cyclohexamide and novobiocin.
 Spinosyns are isolated from Saccharopolyspora spinosa and are active against dipterans,
hymenopterans, etc. and less active against coleopterans, aphids and nematodes.
PROTOZOAN BIOPESTICIDES
 Although they infect pests, induce chronic and debilitating
effects on targets, the use of protozoa as biopesticide has
not been very successful.
 Microsporan protozoans are used as possible component
of IPM.
 Microsporidia are ubiquitous, obligate intracellular
parasites.
 Eg: Nosema and Vairimorpha have some potential to
attack lepidopteran and orthopteran insects.
Nosema pyrausta
 A microsporidian which infect European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis.
 Spores eaten by corn borer larvae germinates in the midgut and injects sporoplasm into
midgut cell.
 The sporoplasm reproduces and then forms more spores, which can infect other tissues.
 Spores in infected midgut cells are sloughed into the gut lumen and are eliminated
along with the faeces to the plant.
 These spores remain viable and are consumed during larval feeding so that infection is
repeated in midgut cells of new host. This is horizontal transmission.
 Nosema can be passed by vertical transmission.
 As the infected female larva develops to an adult, the ovarian tissue and developing
oocytes become infected.
 The embryo and hatched larvae is infected. • It suppresses by reducing oviposition, %
hatch and survival of infected larvae.
MICROBIAL PRODUCTS IN BIOPESTICIDES
 Microorganisms are known to produce anti – pest chemical compounds.
 Antinsectan compounds derived from:
1. Non – filamentous bacteria
2. Actinomycetes
3. Fungi
 Some transgenic crops can be considered among microbial based products.
 Eg: Bacillus thuringiensis based genetically engineered crops like Bt cotton and
maize.
 Genetically modified (GM) sugar beet, papaya, sweet pepper, tomato etc… are
successfully grown.
ADVANTAGES
 Biopesticides are usually inherently less toxic than conventional
pesticides.
 Biopesticides generally affect only the target pest and closely related
organisms, in contrast to broad spectrum, conventional pesticides that
may affect organisms as different as birds, insects and mammals.
 Biopesticides often are effective in very small quantities and often
decompose quickly, resulting in lower exposures and largely avoiding
the pollution problems caused by conventional pesticides.
 When used as a component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
programs, biopesticides can greatly reduce the use of conventional
pesticides, while crop yields remain high.
DISADVANTAGES
 Owing to the specificity of the action, microbes may control only a portion
of the pests present in a field and may not control other type of pests
present in treated areas, which can cause continuous damage.
 As heat, UV light and desiccation reduces the efficacy of microbial
pesticides, the delivery systems become an important factor.
 Special formulations and storage procedures are necessary. Shelf life is a
constraint, given their short shelf lives.
 Given their pest specificity, markets are limited. The development,
registration and production costs cannot be spread over a wide range of
pest control sales; for example, insect viruses are not widely available.
CHALLENGES TO MICROBIAL BIOPESTICIDES
 The utilization of microbial pesticides in IPM model requires high scientific study such as
systematic surveys on properties, mode of action, pathogenicity, etc.
 Ecological studies are necessary on the dynamics of diseases in insect populations because the
environmental factors play a vital role in disease outbreaks to control the pests.
 In order to improve mass production technologies; contamination should be reduced with the
improvement of formulation potency and increase in shelf-life of microbial biopesticides.
 Dry formulations should be commercially focused than the liquid formulations with the
improvement of slow speed with which microbial pathogens kill their host. Genetic and
biotechnological tools would lead to the production of strains with improved pathogenesis and
virulence.
 Due to narrow specificity mostly forces biopesticide application with common conventional
insecticides. However, this practice can also lead to incompatibility problems such as inhibition or
death of the living organism.
 All aspects study should be done especially; persistence, resistance, dispersal potential, the
range of non-target organisms affected directly and/or indirectly in order to solve the problem of
regarding the regulatory and registration.
 POSITIVE ASPECTS OF MICROBIAL
PESTICIDES
 The bioactive agents are basically non-toxic and nonpathogenic to non-target
organisms, communities and humans.
 They have narrow area of toxic action, mostly specific to a single group or species of
insect pests and do not directly affect beneficial insects (predators, parasites,
parasitoids, pollinators) in treated areas.
 They can be used in combination with synthetic chemical insecticides because in most
cases the microbial product is not deactivated.
 Their residues have no adverse effects on humans or other animals, therefore,
microbial insecticides can be used in near harvesting time.
 Sometime, the pathogenic microorganisms can become established in a pest
population or its habitat and provide control pest generation to generations or season
after seasons.
 They improve the root and plant growth by encouraging the beneficial soil microflora
and also increase yield.