Chapter 14
Microbial Biopecticides: Opportunities
and Challenges
Mohammad Reza Moosavi and Vahe Minassian
14.1 Introduction
Total losses to agricultural products of Iran caused by pests are estimated to be more
than 40% (Ebadzadeh et al. 2016). These pests are traditionally controlled by
chemical pesticides and according to latest information released by FAO, 4420
tons of chemicals (1756.1, 1564.2 and 1099.9 tons of insecticides; herbicides; and
fungicides plus bactericides, respectively) were used to protect agricultural products
of Iran just in the year 2016 (FAO Stat 2019). The mean annual amount of used
insecticides; herbicides; and fungicides plus bactericides during 1990 to 2016 was
1844, 2103 and 1687 tons respectively (FAO Stat 2019), however, the application
rate fluctuated considerably over the last three decades (Fig. 14.1).
Intensive usage of pesticides causes accumulation of these harmful chemicals in
the ecosystem and raises many concerns about the public health and environment
safety. Incidence of many chronic diseases like cancers, birth defects, neurodegenerative disorders (such as parkinson, alzheimer, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis),
reproductive disorders, and diabetes has increased unusually in recent years and
a lot of evidence has linked the high frequency of these diseases with exposure to
pesticides (Mousavi et al. 2009; Mostafalou and Abdollahi 2013). If we cannot find
safe alternative pest management methods, the use of pesticides will be increased
due to the demand for more food by the increasing population of mankind.
Public awareness about the destructive effects of the chemical and toxic pesticides on environment and human health has generated a high pressure on the
M. R. Moosavi (*)
Plant Pathology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Marvdasht, Iran
e-mail: rmmoosavi@miau.ac.ir
V. Minassian
Department of Plant Protection, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Karimi, H. Madadi (eds.), Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran,
Progress in Biological Control 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63990-7_14
535
Microbial Biopecticides: Opportunities
and Challenges
Mohammad Reza Moosavi and Vahe Minassian
14.1 Introduction
Total losses to agricultural products of Iran caused by pests are estimated to be more
than 40% (Ebadzadeh et al. 2016). These pests are traditionally controlled by
chemical pesticides and according to latest information released by FAO, 4420
tons of chemicals (1756.1, 1564.2 and 1099.9 tons of insecticides; herbicides; and
fungicides plus bactericides, respectively) were used to protect agricultural products
of Iran just in the year 2016 (FAO Stat 2019). The mean annual amount of used
insecticides; herbicides; and fungicides plus bactericides during 1990 to 2016 was
1844, 2103 and 1687 tons respectively (FAO Stat 2019), however, the application
rate fluctuated considerably over the last three decades (Fig. 14.1).
Intensive usage of pesticides causes accumulation of these harmful chemicals in
the ecosystem and raises many concerns about the public health and environment
safety. Incidence of many chronic diseases like cancers, birth defects, neurodegenerative disorders (such as parkinson, alzheimer, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis),
reproductive disorders, and diabetes has increased unusually in recent years and
a lot of evidence has linked the high frequency of these diseases with exposure to
pesticides (Mousavi et al. 2009; Mostafalou and Abdollahi 2013). If we cannot find
safe alternative pest management methods, the use of pesticides will be increased
due to the demand for more food by the increasing population of mankind.
Public awareness about the destructive effects of the chemical and toxic pesticides on environment and human health has generated a high pressure on the
M. R. Moosavi (*)
Plant Pathology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Marvdasht, Iran
e-mail: rmmoosavi@miau.ac.ir
V. Minassian
Department of Plant Protection, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Karimi, H. Madadi (eds.), Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran,
Progress in Biological Control 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63990-7_14
535