Microencapsulation in the Formulation of Agricultural Inputs for Sustainable Agriculture

GIRARDI, N.S.; SOSA, A.L.; PASSONE, M.A.

Agricultural Research Updates

Nova Science Publishers Inc.

Año: 2021; p. 83 - 124

Pest management in agriculture is badly needed becauseapproximately one third of the world?s potential food supplies are lost topests and diseases, and these losses would rise if crop protection were notimplemented. In the last 40 years, the massive increase in the use of synthetic pesticides made it possible to increase food production. However,its excessive use is currently causing negative effects on health and theenvironment, as well as a rapid emergence of resistance in the pests.Growing social awareness about the impact of agricultural practices hasalso contributed to promoting the development of safer formulations forthe advancement of sustainable agriculture. In recent years, there has beena greater interest in the use of alternative control strategies for themanagement of pests in crops, including the use of natural substances ofplant origin such as essential oils, with the intention of introducing inputseco-friendly farming. However, its application in agriculture usually facessome limitations. Essential oils present as limitations in their fieldapplication the stability and persistence of their effects over time. Thischapter presents an overview of the use of essential oils to controlphytopathogens and weeds in agricultural systems and differentmicroencapsulation strategies that scientists implemented in order to avoidthe disadvantages of applying pure oils. Therefore, the purpose of thisreview is to compile updated information on the innovative methods usedfor the development of formulations of the bio-pesticide based on essentialoils reported in the scientific literature. The use of the formulations againstphytopathogenic fungi, bacteria, insects, phytoparasitic nematodes andweeds are being investigated as alternatives to synthetic pesticides for thedevelopment of a more sustainable agriculture. Research trends are movingtowards the development of greener agricultural formulations. Theformulation of control agents using microencapsulation techniquesimproves their stability and biological activity, and therefore would allowtheir application on a larger scale, thus representing an innovative methodfor these products to be positioned on the market.