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Agronomy
Special Issues
Agronomic Strategies for Managing Insecticide Resistance in Crop Pests
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Agronomic Strategies for Managing Insecticide Resistance in Crop Pests

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Pest and Disease Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2026) | Viewed by 2405

Editors

Dr. Youhui Gong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: insecticide resistance evolution; cytochrome P450; gene regulation; rice plant hoppers; pest management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xin Yang

E-Mail Website
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

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Insecticide resistance in crop pests poses a significant threat to global food security and sustainable agriculture. Understanding the molecular mechanisms driving resistance, such as mutations in target-site genes, the overexpression of detoxification enzymes including cytochrome P450s, and alterations in insect signaling pathways, is critical for developing effective management strategies. Recent advances in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics have provided powerful tools to elucidate these mechanisms at unprecedented resolution.

This Special Issue, titled “Agronomic Strategies for Managing Insecticide Resistance in Crop Pests”, will bring together cutting-edge research and comprehensive reviews that bridge molecular biology with practical agronomy. Particular emphasis will be placed on agronomic strategies, including crop rotation, refuge design, host plant resistance, optimized pesticide application schemes, integration of biological control, and landscape-level practices. At the same time, studies on the genetic and biochemical bases of resistance, novel molecular targets, and resistance monitoring methods are also welcome, especially when they inform or support these agronomic approaches.

By integrating molecular insights with field-level applications, this Special Issue will advance science-based, sustainable solutions for managing insecticide resistance and safeguarding crop productivity in the face of current and future agricultural challenges.

Dr. Youhui Gong
Prof. Dr. Xin Yang
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy 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

  • insecticide resistance
  • cytochrome P450
  • gene regulation
  • target-site mutation
  • insect signaling pathway
  • rice planthopper
  • whitefly
  • pest management
  • integrated pest management
  • sustainable agriculture

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3759 KB  
Article
Screening of Aphid-Resistant Faba Bean Germplasm and Identification of Key Physiological and Biochemical Indicators Associated with Aphid Resistance
by Taijun Fang, Changcai Teng, Ziyan Wen, Luchao Bai and Yujiao Liu
Agronomy 2026, 16(13), 1214; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16131214 - 23 Jun 2026
Viewed by 352
Abstract
Aphis craccivora is a major piercing–sucking insect pest in faba bean (Vicia faba L.) production and severely restricts yield and quality. To identify aphid-resistant genetic resources and clarify the key physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying resistance and susceptibility, 937 faba bean germplasm [...] Read more.
Aphis craccivora is a major piercing–sucking insect pest in faba bean (Vicia faba L.) production and severely restricts yield and quality. To identify aphid-resistant genetic resources and clarify the key physiological and biochemical mechanisms underlying resistance and susceptibility, 937 faba bean germplasm accessions were evaluated using a stepwise strategy comprising natural field screening, precise net-house re-screening, laboratory validation based on aphid life-table parameters, and physiological and biochemical characterization of representative resistant and susceptible accessions. After final laboratory validation, three resistant and three susceptible accessions were selected and subjected to aphid feeding for 0 h (CK), 36 h, and 72 h. Eleven physiological and biochemical traits were dynamically analyzed, including the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), as well as the contents of soluble protein, soluble sugar, free amino acids, tannins, total phenolics, flavonoids, and lignin. Three stable aphid-resistant accessions were ultimately identified. Laboratory life-table analysis showed that the net reproductive rate of aphids on resistant accessions was significantly lower than that on susceptible accessions, with R0 decreasing from 53.63 to 25.08, representing a reduction of 53.2%. The intrinsic rate of increase decreased by 26.7%, whereas the mean generation time increased by 10.7%, confirming the reliability of the screening results. Physiological and biochemical analyses showed that aphid feeding induced significant and time-dependent increases in SOD, POD, CAT, and PAL activities and in tannin, total phenolic, flavonoid, and lignin contents in resistant accessions, whereas these defense responses were weak in susceptible accessions. In contrast, susceptible accessions showed abnormal accumulation of soluble sugars and free amino acids, whereas resistant accessions maintained these nutrients at low levels. Lignin exhibited both constitutive and inducible defense characteristics in resistant accessions and emerged as a prominent candidate indicator for aphid resistance in faba bean. This study establishes an effective technical pipeline for screening aphid-resistant faba bean germplasm and reveals a coordinated defense network involving antioxidant enzymes, phenylpropanoid metabolism, secondary metabolites, and physical barriers. These findings provide elite parental germplasm and theoretical support for aphid-resistance breeding in faba bean. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agronomic Strategies for Managing Insecticide Resistance in Crop Pests)
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17 pages, 6748 KB  
Article
Referenced Transcriptomics Identifies a Core Set of Cytochrome P450 Genes Driving Broad-Spectrum Insecticide Detoxification in Phthonandria atrilineata
by Delong Guan, Jing Song, Yue Qin, Lei Xin, Xiaodong Li and Shihao Zhang
Agronomy 2025, 15(11), 2561; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15112561 - 5 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1242
Abstract
Phthonandria atrilineata, also known as the mulberry looper, is a major defoliator of mulberry trees. This feeding behavior directly affects the growth of the trees and reduces the quality and yield of mulberry leaves for its use in sericulture. Despite its importance [...] Read more.
Phthonandria atrilineata, also known as the mulberry looper, is a major defoliator of mulberry trees. This feeding behavior directly affects the growth of the trees and reduces the quality and yield of mulberry leaves for its use in sericulture. Despite its importance the molecular basis of its resistance to insecticides remains poorly understood. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively characterize the cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) gene family in P. atrilineata and identify key effectors responsible for responses to diverse chemical stressors. We integrated genome-wide re-annotation, phylogenetic analysis, and comparative transcriptomics following exposure to five chemically distinct insecticides. We identified a high-confidence set of 70 P450 genes, dominated by the CYP6 and CYP4 families, whose expansion was driven by tandem gene duplication. Transcriptomic analysis revealed a powerful yet highly selective “elite-driven” response, wherein a small subset of P450s was strongly induced by multiple insecticides. Random Forest and Support Vector Machine (SVM) models converged with differential expression data to pinpoint a core trio of P450s as primary drivers of detoxification: two generalists, CYP6(09521) and CYP6(04876), responsive to all compounds, and one potent specialist, CYP4(04803), exhibiting massive induction to a specific subset of insecticides. Our findings uncover a complex, energy-efficient metabolic strategy in P. atrilineata and identify pivotal P450 genes for broad-spectrum detoxification. These genes represent high-priority targets for developing molecular diagnostic tools for resistance monitoring and informing scientifically guided insecticide rotation strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agronomic Strategies for Managing Insecticide Resistance in Crop Pests)
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