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Agriculture
Special Issues
Sustainable Use of Pesticides—2nd Edition
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Sustainable Use of Pesticides—2nd Edition

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pests and Weeds".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2026 | Viewed by 1652

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xun Zhu

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Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: insect; aphid; integrated pest management; pesticide resistance; insect molecular biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Zhiguang Yuchi

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Guest Editor
School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
Interests: pesticide; mechanism of action; resistance; ion channel; structural biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xin Yang

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Guest Editor
Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: insecticide resistance; whitefly; gene regulation; pest control; cytochrome P450; insect signaling pathway
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Lang Pan

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Guest Editor
College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
Interests: herbicide resistance; weed management; herbicide toxicity; weed biology; weed population ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pesticide is a double-edged sword: it is widely used to control harmful organisms such as pests and weeds, but also affects non-target organisms and causes human disease and environment pollution. The potential risks associated with the use of pesticides are acceptable to a certain extent, considering the benefits that they generate. With this, the aim of the sustainable use of pesticides is to balance the risks and benefits of their application.

This Special Issue aims to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the risks associated with their use in agriculture, and by promoting the use of integrated pest management (IPM) and alternative green approaches and techniques. Research articles may cover topics related to pesticide use status, pesticide risk evaluation, new techniques of pesticide application, field pest resistance status, resistance mechanisms, and pesticide resistance management strategies. For this Special Issue, we welcome all types of articles, including original research, opinion, and review articles.

Prof. Dr. Xun Zhu
Prof. Dr. Zhiguang Yuchi
Prof. Dr. Xin Yang
Prof. Dr. Lang Pan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pesticide
  • pesticide research and development
  • integrated pest management
  • sustainable agriculture
  • pesticide synthesis
  • pesticide formulation
  • pesticide application
  • pesticide risk assessment
  • pesticide residue
  • pesticide resistance

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1064 KB  
Article
Pulse Width Modulation on the Droplet Spectrum and Velocity of Spray Nozzles
by Silviane Gomes Rodrigues, Guilherme Sousa Alves and João Paulo Arantes Rodrigues da Cunha
Agriculture 2025, 15(17), 1830; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15171830 - 28 Aug 2025
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Abstract
Pulse width modulation (PWM) allows for the real-time flow rate adjustment of spray nozzles without changing system pressure, indicating that PWM is a promising technology for improving the quality of pesticide applications. However, its effect on the droplet formation process is not yet [...] Read more.
Pulse width modulation (PWM) allows for the real-time flow rate adjustment of spray nozzles without changing system pressure, indicating that PWM is a promising technology for improving the quality of pesticide applications. However, its effect on the droplet formation process is not yet fully understood. In this study, the effects of a PWM system on the droplet spectrum and velocity generated by different flat fan hydraulic nozzles were evaluated. The experiment was conducted via a spray simulator to test the impact of PWM technology under various operational conditions and flat fan nozzle types (standard, pre-orifice, and air inclusion). With the aid of a real-time particle analyzer and high-resolution imaging, the following variables were analyzed: volume median diameter (VMD), relative span, droplet velocity, and the percentage of volume composed of droplets with a diameter smaller than 100 µm. Four simulated working speeds (1.1, 1.7, 2.8, and 3.9 m s−1), which were equivalent to four PWM valve duty cycles (35%, 42%, 71%, and 100%), respectively, were evaluated. The PWM system altered the droplet size, generally reducing the VMD in comparison to the conventional system. The relative span was not influenced by the PWM system’s duty cycle, although system activation increased droplet size heterogeneity in some nozzle types. The droplet velocity was generally slower using the PWM system in comparison with the conventional system, but higher duty cycles increased this parameter. Overall, the results of this study suggest that spray patterns are altered by PWM activation, and the traits of this behaviour depend on the spray nozzle type. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Use of Pesticides—2nd Edition)
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12 pages, 1247 KB  
Article
Insecticide Resistance and Plant Virus Status of Bemisia tabaci on Soybean in Suzhou
by Qi Li, Yao Ji, He Du, Shufang Ma, Jifei Zhu, Dehui Zhu, Natalia A. Belyakova, Youjun Zhang and Xin Yang
Agriculture 2025, 15(10), 1071; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15101071 - 15 May 2025
Viewed by 813
Abstract
Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a super pest that seriously endangers the development of the agricultural economy worldwide. To prevent and control B. tabaci, insecticides have been used for many years, which has inevitably led to increased tolerance to chemical agents. To [...] Read more.
Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a super pest that seriously endangers the development of the agricultural economy worldwide. To prevent and control B. tabaci, insecticides have been used for many years, which has inevitably led to increased tolerance to chemical agents. To elucidate the development of field resistance and more scientifically and efficiently control B. tabaci, in December 2024, we conducted bioassays on B. tabaci on soybeans in Suzhou, Anhui Province, using 14 insecticides. These fourteen insecticides, namely, abamectin, spinetoram, thiamethoxam, flupyradifurone, imidacloprid, dinotefuran, acetamiprid, thiacloprid, nitenpyram, bifenthrin, deltamethrin, pyridaben, flonicamid, and emamectin benzoate, have multiple action sites and have all shown good control effects on B. tabaci. The results revealed that B. tabaci has developed high resistance to many insecticides and that some insecticides have even tended to fail, but B. tabaci is still sensitive to a small number of insecticides. Different biotypes of B. tabaci differ significantly in terms of insecticide resistance. We determined that the population of B. tabaci on soybean in Suzhou was the MED (Q) biotype. It carried the TYLCV virus, with a virus carrying rate of 60%, but did not carry ToCV or CCYV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Use of Pesticides—2nd Edition)
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