Plant secondary metabolites as alternatives in pest management. II: An overview of their potential in Cuba

This review covers the historical use of plant secondary metabolites in agricultural practices in Cuba and their potential in pest management. The Cuban flora has not yet been fully studied as a source of pesticides, partly due to its great diversity. Nevertheless, up to date, several plants are used by Cuban farmers as repellents and/or as raw material for the preparation of botanical pesticides in an artisan manner, and more than 60 plants have demonstrated their pesticidal activity under laboratory, semicontrolled and field conditions. Meliaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Clusiaceae, Piperaceae, Lamiaceae, Apiaceae, and Mirtaceae are among the most important involved plant families. From the chemical point of view, promising results have been achieved with alkaloids, terpenoids, coumarins and essential oils. The efficient practical application of pesticidal properties of plants in crop rotation, polycrops, and intercropping, and as barrier or traps requires further research from the chemical ecology point of view. As botanical pesticides, plant secondary metabolites may be applied in protected crops, nurseries, seed treatments in protected and field-grown crops, storage pest management among others. Innovative products can be developed by using them in mixtures with other phytosanitary products and as resistance inducers. The use of known botanicals and the identification of local candidates for developing new products offer alternatives that may combine efficiency and safety for the Cuban agriculture in pest management. Multidisciplinary and multiinstitucional research-development, and innovation programmes will play an important role in the increase of the scientific and socioeconomic impact of these phytosanitary products for contributing to a sustainable food production. Esta revisión abarca el uso histórico de los metabolitos secundarios de origen botánico en prácticas agrícolas y su potencial en el manejo de plagas en Cuba. La flora cubana aún no se ha estudiado totalmente como fuente de plaguicidas, en parte debido a su gran diversidad. Sin embargo, hasta la fecha, numerosas plantas son utilizadas por los campesinos cubanos como repelentes y/o materia prima para la preparación de extractos de manera artesanal y se ha demostrado la actividad plaguicida de más de 60 plantas en condiciones de laboratorio, semicontroladas y campo. Entre las familias botánicas involucradas más importantes se encuentran: Meliaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Solanac