Bioinsecticides as future mainstream pest control agents:opportunities and challenges

Bioinsecticides are naturally-occurring substances from different sources that control insect pests.Ideal bioinsecticides should have low toxicity to non-target organisms.They should also be easily degraded in sewage treatment works and natural environments,highly effective in small quantities and affect target pests only.Public concerns about possible side-effects of synthetic pesticides have accelerated bioinsecticide research and development.However,to develop bioinsecticides into mainstream products,their high production costs,short shelf-life and often uncertain modes of action need to be considered.This review summarizes current progress on bioinsecticides which are categorized as biochemical insecticides and their derivatives,plant-incorporated protectants,and microbial bioinsecticides.The current constraints that prevent bioinsecti-cides from being widely used are discussed and future research directions are proposed.