Registration of biopesticides

Abstract

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has encouraged the development of pest management techniques that offer alternatives to conventional chemical control. Many natural products and biologically derived pest management agents differ significantly from conventional chemical pesticides in chemistry, complexity, and mode of action. However, such differences are difficult to categorize in terms of relative risk and few regulatory precedents exist. This has created difficulties for the regulatory community which makes the decision-making process sometimes appear unduly slow. Progress is being made as more biopesticides are registered and experience of their use has accumulated