Nature’s Cure: The Role of Botanicals in Integrated Disease Management

The excessive and haphazard use of the majority of synthetic fungicides has led to a variety of toxicological and environmental issues. Our ancestors used various botanicals to manage plant diseases long before the advent of conventional fungicides. Recently, attention has been focused on using higher plant products as innovative chemotherapeutics in plant protection in many parts of the world. Botanical pesticides are gaining increasing popularity, with various plant-based products being used as bio-pesticides worldwide. As botanical pesticides, pyrethroids and neem products have a well-established industry due to their widespread customer acceptability and generally safe reputation. Additionally, treating seeds and applying a foliar spray of freshly prepared garlic bulb extract led to a reduction in alternaria blight by 35.6%, white rust by 50.4%, powdery mildew by 67.7% and sclerotinia rot by 80.3% in mustard. This treatment also resulted in a 27.3% increase in yield compared to the untreated control. Some volatile oils, which often contain the main aromatic and flavoring components of herbs and spices, have been recommended as plant-based antimicrobials to delay microbial contamination and reduce food spoilage. Botanical pesticides are best suited for use in organic food production in industrialized countries, but they can play a much larger role in the production and post-harvest protection of food products in developing countries.