Advancing Sustainable Horticulture: Harnessing Biocontrol Agents for Insect Pest Management and Plant Growth Promotion
A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Pest Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2026 | Viewed by 282
Editors
Interests: biological control; entomopathogenic fungi; integrated pest management; plant protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: macromycete biodiversity & conservation; fungal systematics & ecology; fungal biotic interactions; fungal metabolite research; fungal biotechnological applications; ATHUM mycetotheca development
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Our demand for sustainable horticultural production is increasing. Due to environmental constraints and reduced availability of synthetic pesticides, the need for the development of effective and ecologically sound pest management strategies emerges. Biological control agents (BCAs) are important components of integrated pest management (IPM). They provide targeted insect pest suppression and maintain the agroecosystem stability.
Several BCAs are known for their direct entomopathogenic activity, such as entomopathogenic microorganisms and beneficial arthropods. Simultaneously, they exhibit multifunctional roles, including endophytic behavior and plant growth-promoting effects.
This Special Issue aims to present original research and reviews addressing the diversity, mechanisms of action, formulation, field application, and IPM integration of biocontrol agents in horticultural systems, with emphasis on their dual role in insect pest management and plant growth promotion.
Dr. Ioannis Lagogiannis
Dr. Zacharoula Gonou-Zagou
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. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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
- biological control
- entomopathogenic fungi
- integrated pest management
- sustainable horticulture
- plant growth–promoting microorganisms
- insect–microbe interactions
- eco-friendly pest control
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