Saturday, October 29, 2011
Hall 1-2 (San Jose Convention Center)
The Green Revolution in agriculture is known as a significant increase in agricultural productivity resulting from the introduction of high-yield varieties of grains, the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and improved management techniques. In the new millennium, bio-pesticides are considered “green” because they are often more target-specific than conventional pesticides. Biopesticides may be plants, microorganisms or naturally occurring substances. They may be manufactured using chemical processes.
While researching new active ingredients for the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC), biopesticides emerged as a trend in the development of new pesticide technologies. Due to the selective nature of these compounds, the full battery of toxicological studies has not always been required of these substances, specifically pheromones and hormones. The rate of new registrations for biopesticides has almost doubled since 2007, while the rate of new registrations for conventional pesticides has fallen in that time. Increased target specificity can reduce off-target impacts. However, studies are needed to determine whether public acceptance may be reduced when toxicology tests are waived.