Advances in Insect Pest Management: Innovative Approaches to Enhance Plant Protection

Dear Colleagues,

Modern agriculture faces a range of challenges, including growing concerns regarding food safety, the development of organic agricultural production, the emergence of invasive species, the presence of resistant populations of harmful organisms, and the disruption of biodiversity, which is caused by our reliance on pesticidal interventions.

Insect pests represent a main source of biotic stress, thus affecting the yield and quality of crops; as a potential threat to food safety, this stress is managed via the application of pesticides. However, this quick-fix mentality can have adverse effects on environmental and human health.

Thus, innovative approaches to insect pest management must focus on the integration of novel technologies, biological methods, and sustainable practices to reduce our reliance on pesticides.

In order to provide sustainable and safe food production, these issues must be addressed in conventional, organic and integrated agricultural farming.

This Special Issue of Insects aims to provide an overview of research regarding the development of interventions that manage insect pest populations to enhance the protection of plants. Therefore, we are pleased to invite leading researchers (entomologists, plant protection specialists and associated experts) to submit review and original research articles to this Special Issue of Insects.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

Keywords:

• plant protection
• crop protection
• insects control
• alternative measures
• organic agriculture
• biocontrol agents
• plant–insect interactions
• biological control
• biopesticides
• pests

Dr. Nuray Baser
Prof. Dr. Gulay Kacar
Dr. Dragana Šunjka
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.