author(s)
Sweta Bhan, Lalit Mohan and CN Srivastava

abstract
Worldwide, synthetic pesticides are extensively used as pest control agents but they are regarded as ecologically unsafe. Their excessive application promotes speedier evolution of resistance in insect pests, destroys natural enemies, harms non-target species and contaminates food. Concern about harmful environmental implications has led to a surge of research into safer alternative methods. To alleviate these problems pesticidal formulations based on plant products have attracted because of their target specificity to insect pests, their eco-friendly and biodegradable nature and their potential for commercial application. These properties of Phytopesticides have provided an alternative measure to synthetic pesticides because of their low environmental pollution, low toxicity to humans and various other advantages. This leads to increased development of Phytopesticides based on the models of naturally occurring toxins of biological origin. This review outlines the current state of knowledge on the potential use of Phytopesticides in insect pest management.