Scientists have discovered fruit substitutes for toxic insect repellents

a compound taken from fruit could be used as a safe insect repellent in the future, according to a study by the University of California, Riverside.pests damage large quantities of agricultural products each year, finding a safe and effective insect repellent is a priority for agrochemical production. In recent years, scientists have become increasingly interested in detecting plant resistance to pests, for example, when a team of researchers recently studied how a plant's chemical distress signals were turned into a weapon against pests.to find alternatives to existing insect repellents, the California team looked at a range of mosquito-repellent alternatives that have been approved for use as food additives. Mosquito repellent is a widely used insect repellent, but is only used in skin and clothing due to safety concerns.alternative to mosquito amines, phthalates, come from fruits and are often used in fragrances because of their pleasant smell. The team found that spraying
10 percent
of phthalates on blueberries protected blueberry samples from spotted fruit flies by almost
100 percent
. The fruit fly is a major pest that causes billions of dollars in economic losses globally each year, and there is an urgent need to find a way to fight it.research results have been published in the chemical world.

, a senior researcher in the study, has filed a patent application for the technology, which he hopes will provide farmers with an alternative to natural insect repellent. He is also considering similar ways to protect people and livestock from pests.