Management of Pests and Diseases in Tropical Fruit Crops

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2025 | Viewed by 1452

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Arthropod Ecology and Pest Management Group, Department of Agriculture, Society and Environment, El Colegio de La Frontera Sur, Carretera Antiguo Aeropuerto km 2.5, C.P. 30700, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico
Interests: coffee pests; pest management; biological control; natural enemies; pest sampling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Arthropod Ecology and Pest Management, El Colegio de La Frontera Sur, Carretera Antiguo Aeropuerto km 2.5, Tapachula C.P. 30700, Chiapas, Mexico
Interests: integrated pest management of tropical crops; microbial control of fruit flies; use of the sterile insect technique (SIT); post-harvest quarantine treatment of fruits

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Biociencias, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, Boulevard Akichino S/N, Tapachula 30798, Chiapas, Mexico
Interests: biology and ecology of natural enemies; biological control; pest management; monitoring and detection of fruit fly pests; application of the sterile insect technique (SIT)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), global trade in tropical fruits has expanded to unprecedented levels in recent years. This has generated improvements in nutrition and substantial income for small producers and for many producing countries through exports. However, pests and diseases represent an important limitation for the production and marketing of tropical fruits and can affect the well-being and food security of thousands of families in developing countries. Research, technological development, and innovation are paths that lead to improvements in the economic, social, and environmental aspects of pest and disease management of tropical fruit crops. This Special Issue of Plants will highlight knowledge on the bioecology of pests and diseases of major (e.g., banana, avocado, mango, mangosteen, guava, papaya, citrus, and pineapple) and minor (rambutan, durian, breadfruit, Java apple, lychee, macadamia nut, pili nuts, cherry, passion fruit, among others) tropical fruit crops; the development, application, and evaluation of strategies and tactics for their pest management; and the reduction in the use of agrotoxics.

Dr. Juan F. Barrera
Dr. Jorge Toledo
Dr. Pablo Montoya
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • arthropod pests
  • arthropod vectors
  • plant pathogens
  • weeds
  • bioecology
  • natural enemies
  • biological control
  • pest sampling
  • attractants and repellents
  • resistant crop varieties
  • integrated pest management
  • tropical or subtropical climate zones

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

7 pages, 5641 KiB  
Communication
First Report of Cactus Weevil Feeding on Selenicereus undatus in Jalisco, Mexico
by Haidel Vargas-Madriz, Citlally Topete-Corona, Ausencio Azuara-Dominguez, Ángel Félix Vargas-Madriz, Martha Olivia Lazaro-Dzul, Jesús Alberto Acuña-Soto, Aarón Kuri-García and Crystian Sadiel Venegas-Barrera
Plants 2025, 14(8), 1162; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14081162 - 9 Apr 2025
Viewed by 547
Abstract
The cactus Selenicereus undatus (S. undatus), known as pitahaya or dragon fruit, is one of the pitaya species of economic importance for different countries worldwide, particularly in China, Mexico, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the United States, among other countries. On the [...] Read more.
The cactus Selenicereus undatus (S. undatus), known as pitahaya or dragon fruit, is one of the pitaya species of economic importance for different countries worldwide, particularly in China, Mexico, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the United States, among other countries. On the other hand, Cactophagus spinolae (C. spinolae) is a pest insect found in Mexico, known as the cactus weevil or borer. This study reports, for the first time, C. spinolae feeding and damage to the vascular stem and flower bud of wild S. undatus plants in Jalisco, Mexico. Field sampling was conducted in wild populations of S. undatus between July and October 2024. The results of our study confirm that C. spinolae actively feeds on S. undatus, causing damage to the plant, primarily to the vascular cylinder of mature and immature stems, as well as to flower buds and tissues. During monitoring, we observed a total of nine eggs, nine larvae, and sixteen adults in different plant samples, confirming that S. undatus serves as a reproductive host for C. spinolae. The results highlight the threat of C. spinolae to S. undatus in the State of Jalisco, which highlights the need to incorporate new agricultural strategies to mitigate the impact that this insect has on pitahaya. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Management of Pests and Diseases in Tropical Fruit Crops)
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