ABSTRACT
Pests are the highest contributor towards the loss of productivity in farming. Around the globe, they claim losses of about 40% of total food production. This loss seems to be unstoppable by the currently available methods and techniques used for pest management. Other hurdles to using conventional chemical-based methods of pest management are environmental toxicity and pesticides resistance. Therefore, an alternate, efficient and, environmentally friendly approach is the need of the hour. Insect growth regulators (IGRs) fulfill such requirement as they do not act as a toxicant for animals, humans, pets, and natural flora, but they disturb the growth cycles of the pest and result in control of pest population and future infestations. These IGRs are also known as third-generation pesticides or birth controllers of pests. IGRs typically prevent insect reproduction or regulate metamorphosis in order to manage insect population. This chapter deals with the sources, functions, advantages, and limitations of different types of IGRs, including natural and synthetic analogues acting through both hormonal and non-hormonal mechanisms to control the insect/pest population and infestations as well. The natural sources and functions of botanical pesticides are also explained.
