Towards Sustainability: Trade-Off Between Pest Management and Environment
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Pest and Disease Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 8
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Crop protection has long been associated with a "pesticidal" action of active substances. In the Latin sense of the term (caedere), which means to kill pests, the toxicity and eco-toxicity of these substances has been criticized for decades. The emergence of new types of substances, i.e., those of "biocontrol agents", new modes of action that are not actually "biocidal", and new methods of application in fields have allowed and will continue to reduce the impact of pesticides on the environment and humans. Despite everything, these substances are reported to be less effective; supposedly, they are intended directly or indirectly to counter pests and any of these substances can have undesirable effects. It is this benefit/risk that must be reduced by acting on the two levers—danger and exposure. Certain initiatives on active substances, such as specific disposition in the USA as biopesticides or in Europe with low-risk substances and basic substances, contribute to reducing the general toxicity of plant protection products, reducing residues and, therefore, their negative impacts. Most of these new substances are compatible with organic farming plant protection restrictions, increasing the potential sales and market penetration. However, all these changes can only be effective if the pipeline of candidate substances is significant and regulatory obstacles are removed. Articles and reviews related to the above topics are welcome.
Dr. Patrice A. Marchand
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- pest management
- plant protection products
- organic farming
- ecotoxicology
- pesticides
- ecological impact
- regulatory
- innovation
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