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Agriculture
Special Issues
Advances in Biological Pest Control in Agroecosystems
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Advances in Biological Pest Control in Agroecosystems

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: 25 May 2025 | Viewed by 1626

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Manuel Cantó-Tejero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plant Production and Microbiology Department, E.P.S. Orihuela, University Miguel Hernández (UMH), Carretera de Beniel Km. 3.2, 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, Spain
Interests: soil-borne pathogens; soil disinfection; soil health management; aphids; biological control; integrated pest management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Wanxue Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory for Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: biological invasion; agricultural pests; biological control; ecological regulation; insect population ecology; natural enemies; parasitoids

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The biological control of crop pests is based on the use of insects, mites, or fungi. Their appropriate use can allow farmers to reduce the use of pesticides or even avoid them in some specific cases. The number of active substances allowed for pest control is decreasing, leading to the repeated use of available active substances. This leads to the emergence of new resistances. Newly emerging products of natural origin as an alternative to synthetic products are often not entirely satisfactory on their own. Biological pest control (the introduction and conservation of natural enemies) has proven to be an effective and economically viable control method and is the basis of integrated pest management (IPM) in combination with other control methods. Biological pest control has now been implemented in numerous crops and has become established in large production areas. There is a need to ascertain the efficacy and compatibility of other control methods (e.g., pesticide treatments or cultural practices) with biocontrol agents.

One of the most significant challenges in the field of biological pest control is to comprehend the impact of the introduction or conservation of these biocontrol agents on the biodiversity of the crop, as well as that of the environment in which these agroecosystems are situated. These concerns will be addressed in a Special Issue of Agriculture, which will focus on the latest developments in biological pest control and their potential future applications in agroecosystems.

Dr. Manuel Cantó-Tejero
Dr. Wanxue Liu
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

  • integrated pest management (IPM)
  • biological control
  • predators
  • parasitoids
  • entomopathogenic agents
  • natural enemies
  • arthropods
  • conservation biological control

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2255 KiB  
Article
Attraction Behavior and Functional Response of Orius insidiosus to Semiochemicals Mediating Rose–Western Flower Thrips Interactions
by Marco A. Díaz, Ericsson Coy-Barrera and Daniel Rodríguez
Agriculture 2025, 15(4), 431; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15040431 - 19 Feb 2025
Viewed by 517
Abstract
The Western Flower Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) constitutes a significant threat to rose greenhouses in Colombia. An eco-friendly approach to managing this pest involves using the predatory bug Orius insidiosus. The pest and its predator’s food search and selection mechanisms are [...] Read more.
The Western Flower Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) constitutes a significant threat to rose greenhouses in Colombia. An eco-friendly approach to managing this pest involves using the predatory bug Orius insidiosus. The pest and its predator’s food search and selection mechanisms are influenced by ecological interactions mediated by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted during plant–pest interactions. To investigate the role of VOCs in the foraging and host-selection behaviors of O. insidiosus, we conducted functional response assays in greenhouses and olfactometry experiments in laboratory settings. These experiments used flowers from two rose cultivars, with and without female adult thrips, over 24, 48, and 72 h. Functional response analysis revealed a shift in O. insidiosus foraging behavior based on the duration of thrips interaction with rose flowers, transitioning from a Type II to a Type III functional response between 24 and 48 h in the ‘Freedom’ cultivar. The maximum consumption rates increased significantly, from 7.98 individuals at 24 h to 16.18 individuals at 48 h, before slightly decreasing to 14.37 individuals at 72 h. This shift coincided with an increase in O. insidiosus preference for thrips-infested ‘Freedom’ flowers over time, with selection proportions rising from 0.37 at 24 h to 0.46 at 72 h, suggesting a learning effect on prey-searching behavior mediated by VOCs. Olfactometry analyses revealed that O. insidiosus did not respond to the same VOCs that attracted F. occidentalis during flower infestation. However, O. insidiosus responded to certain VOCs likely associated with floral resources such as nectar and pollen, which also attract pollinators and zoophytophagous predators. This observation suggests a potential overlap in the chemical cues used by O. insidiosus for distinct ecological purposes. These findings highlight the complex chemical ecology underlying predator–prey interactions in agroecosystems and underscore the importance of considering VOCs in shaping the foraging behavior of natural enemies and their interactions with insect pests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological Pest Control in Agroecosystems)
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18 pages, 8227 KiB  
Article
Rice Stubble Provides Overwintering Microhabitats for Spiders in Winter-Fallowed Rice Fields
by Jie Sun, Xuhao Song, Jundong He, Dongmei Chen, Tingbang Yang and Aimin Shi
Agriculture 2025, 15(4), 381; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15040381 - 11 Feb 2025
Viewed by 479
Abstract
Spiders are among the predominant predatory arthropods in rice field ecosystems. Although the potential of spiders for controlling pests during the growth stages of rice is well known, few studies have focused on the overwintering habits of spiders after rice harvesting. In the [...] Read more.
Spiders are among the predominant predatory arthropods in rice field ecosystems. Although the potential of spiders for controlling pests during the growth stages of rice is well known, few studies have focused on the overwintering habits of spiders after rice harvesting. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the potential of rice stubble as an overwintering microhabitat for spiders in winter-fallowed rice fields. To this end, we investigated the arthropod community composition and analyzed the prey spectra of common predators in rice stubble in winter-fallowed rice fields in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, China. The results showed that abundant predatory arthropods, particularly spiders, were present in the rice stubble, followed by other arthropods and pests. Dietary analysis via DNA metabarcoding revealed the prey availability and/or predation frequency of spiders is low in winter rice fields. Nevertheless, pests and other arthropods (particularly collembolans) within rice stubble serve as food resources for predators, particularly spiders, in winter-fallowed rice fields. Our results confirm that rice stubble provides overwintering microhabitats for spiders in winter-fallowed fields. Therefore, it is particularly important to properly manage rice stubble in winter-fallowed rice fields to enhance the biological pest control services of predators (including spiders). In addition, our findings highlight the potential of rice stubble as a habitat for the artificial reproduction of spiders for pest control in rice fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological Pest Control in Agroecosystems)
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