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Microbial Biopecticides: Opportunities and Challenges

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Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran

Part of the book series: Progress in Biological Control ((PIBC,volume 18))

Abstract

Pests (arthropods, weeds and diseases) destroy a lot of agricultural products in Iran. Synthetic pesticides have been the mainstay of pest management for many years; however, they recently face challenges such as pest resurgence and society awareness about their adverse impacts on human health, biodiversity and ecosystem. Future pest control should aim to support food safety and environment conservation. Microbial pesticides are good substitutes, especially when applied in an integrated management program. In spite of high potency, few microbial pesticides have been registered in Iran. Here we review the current status of microbial control agents and the main challenges which both producers and growers face in manufacturing and adoption of microbial products. Finally, the future prospects of investigation, development and application of these products are analyzed.

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Acknowledgement

The authors thank “Knowledge-base Plant Protection Clinic” (Shiraz-Iran) for its help in collecting information on microbial biopesticides available in the market of Iran. We also thank Dr. Anahita Yazdanpak from “Fars Environment and Food Safety Office” for sharing her information about “Practical Instruction for Producing Certified and Standard Products”.

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Correspondence to Mohammad Reza Moosavi .

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Moosavi, M.R., Minassian, V. (2021). Microbial Biopecticides: Opportunities and Challenges. In: Karimi, J., Madadi, H. (eds) Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran. Progress in Biological Control, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63990-7_14

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