Some plants contain components that are toxic to pathogens. When extracted from the plant and applied on infested crops, these components are called botanical pesticides or botanicals or biocides. Many plant extracts or allelochemicals show an antagonistic inhibitory activity against plant pathogens and such products have long been used as attractive alternatives to synthetic chemical fungicides for plant diseases management practices because they pose little threat to the environment and human health. Plants from several families have been reported to exhibit a wide range of biological activities against insect pests, plant pathogens; some of which are now widely accepted in plant pathological studies. In the context of agricultural disease management, biocides are best suited for use in organic food production in developed countries but can play a much greater role in the production and post-harvest protection of food in developing countries. Despite major research interest a decade ago, antifeedants, especially neem and azadirachtin based products have made a relatively modest impact in the field. Essential oil products have recently emerged as the most important botanical insecticides. The present review emphasizes the biological activities of phytoextracts, role of botanical insecticides in integrated pest and disease management and also methods employed in the screening and application of such products.