Getting rid of pests in the garden and field is always a concern—how do you eliminate the problematic critters and keep the good ones? How do you keep toxic chemicals from lingering in the soil, impacting humans, pets, or beneficial insects? One potential solution is to look into biopesticides! Find out more about them at the next PEPS Special Seminar.
- Date: April 16
- Time: 1:00 p.m.
- Location: St John 307
Pam Marrone, the CEO and founder of Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc., will be discussing “Biologicals for Pest Management and Plant Health: History, Status and Potential.” While biopesticides have been around for seventy years, they are experiencing rapid growth these days, as products have gotten better and more science-based and as more restrictions are being placed on synthetic chemical pesticides. Growth of biopesticides is projected to continue to outpace that of chemical pesticides, with compounded annual growth rates of 10–20% versus 2–3% for chemicals.
When integrated into crop-production and pest-management programs, biopesticides offer potential for higher crop yields and better quality than chemical-only programs. Added benefits include reduction or elimination of chemical residues, which eases export, delays the development of resistance to chemicals, necessitates a shorter field re-entry time, increases biodegradability, and creates lower risk to non-target organisms, including pollinators.
Challenges to the adoption of biopesticides include lack of awareness and education in how to test and deploy their unique modes of action in integrated programs, as well as lingering misperceptions of cost and efficacy. Get the full story at the seminar! Remote participants can join via Zoom.