IPM in the Rhizosphere: Challenges, Discovery and Success

Dear colleagues,

The crypic nature of soil-dwelling arthropod pests creates unique challenges for pest management and the understanding of plant–arthropod and predator–prey interactions below ground. The advances in pest management above ground do not always transfer directly in the rhizosphere. Tasks as simple as pest monitoring become difficult when pests’ life stages are hidden in the soil; biocontrol and other managment strategies involve compatibility with both the host and the soil environment, and ecological interactions such as those involving chemical signaling among roots, pests, and predators are also entangled with the complexity of the rhizosphere. This Special Issue aims to highlight the diverse and innovative management approaches for rhizophagous pests, and pests with soil-dwelling life histories, as well as the tritrophic interactions occurring below ground. In addition, highlights on the challenges of investigating soil-dwelling arthropod pests and ways in which these challenges may be overcome are an important aim. Original research articles, review articles, and short communications are all welcome.

Dr. Ricardo A. Ramirez
Dr. Douglas S. Richmond
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. Insects 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 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.