Abstract

Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides are widely used in agriculture to improve crop yields. Most of the compounds used are synthetic, and their overuse causes environmental pollution and human health problems. Currently, several countries are working to reduce the use of agrochemicals. Organic agriculture is now emerging as a sustainable alternative to traditional agriculture using environmentally friendly strategies such as the application of organic fertilizers from plant and animal waste and pesticides based on plant extracts and microbials. However, the availability of commercial biopesticides and organic fertilizers is very limited because there are certain barriers to the commercialization of biological products. These barriers include small available quantities of raw materials and strict registration laws requiring toxicological tests and other studies that are expensive and time consuming. The objective of this review is to provide details about the various organic fertilizers and pesticides that do not have the same disadvantages as synthetic compounds in terms of persistence and toxicity.