Management of pests and diseases of important tropical/subtropical medicinal and aromatic plants: A review

Publication date: May 2018Source: Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Volume 9Author(s): Ruparao T. GahukarAbstractMedicinal plant parts are generally used in ayurvedic medicines and local decoction and other home-made preparations. Essential oils extracted from aromatic plants are used in perfumes and food industries. Healthy plant material is therefore essential for maintaining product quality. However, cultivation of both medicinal and aromatic plants is facing problems, the major being lack of production technology and unregulated marketing. Additionally, both quantity and quality of biomass are adversely affected by the damages caused by pests and diseases during plant development. Currently, leaf sap sucking pests (mealy bugs, aphids, thrips, mites), defoliators (leaf rollers/webbers, grasshopper, epilachna beetles), flower bud and flower feeding pests (bud worms, gall midges, thrips), fungal diseases (root rot, wilt, leaf spots, blight/anthracnose) and root-knot nematodes are common and important invaders during crop cultivation.Synthetic insecticides particularly organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids and neonicotinoids have been extensively used by farmers for protecting medicinal and aromatic plants. Consequently, toxic residue of pesticides in raw material posed serious concerns of risk to human health. Therefore, an integrated management including cultural practices, plant-derived products and biological control has been experimented o...

Source: Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants - July 10, 2018 Category: Complementary Medicine Source Type: research