Pub Date : 2025-12-09DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01998-9
Zhuo Yu, Liwen Feng, Mohao Xiong, Wenfeng Hu, Jun Zhong, Cong Zhang, Marylène Poirié, Jean-Luc Gatti, Bin Xia, Bin Wan
{"title":"Differential cellular and humoral immune responses of the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri to its ecto- and endoparasitoids","authors":"Zhuo Yu, Liwen Feng, Mohao Xiong, Wenfeng Hu, Jun Zhong, Cong Zhang, Marylène Poirié, Jean-Luc Gatti, Bin Xia, Bin Wan","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01998-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01998-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145703981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-09DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01997-w
Yonghui Song, Jie Wang, Xiaohan Yao, Chang Liu, Lu Gao, Lisi Wang, Yihua Yang, Yidong Wu, Ya-Zhou He
{"title":"Redundant targeting with multiple sgRNAs enables rapid genetic screening in the lepidopteran pest Helicoverpa armigera","authors":"Yonghui Song, Jie Wang, Xiaohan Yao, Chang Liu, Lu Gao, Lisi Wang, Yihua Yang, Yidong Wu, Ya-Zhou He","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01997-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01997-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145703982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-06DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01990-3
Priscilla Farina, Barbara Conti, Angelo Canale, Andrea Lucchi, Stefano Vanin, Giovanni Benelli
{"title":"Calliphora vomitoria: both the beauty and the beast","authors":"Priscilla Farina, Barbara Conti, Angelo Canale, Andrea Lucchi, Stefano Vanin, Giovanni Benelli","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01990-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01990-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01969-0
Ana Paula Vanin, Mateus Torres Nazari, Daniela Dal Castel Krein, Aline Rubert, Vera Analise Schommer, Leticia Priscilla Arantes, Natacha Melo, Aline Dettmer, Luciane Maria Colla, Jeferson Steffanello Piccin
{"title":"Bacillus spp. as eco-friendly agents for the biocontrol of plant-parasitic nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.)","authors":"Ana Paula Vanin, Mateus Torres Nazari, Daniela Dal Castel Krein, Aline Rubert, Vera Analise Schommer, Leticia Priscilla Arantes, Natacha Melo, Aline Dettmer, Luciane Maria Colla, Jeferson Steffanello Piccin","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01969-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01969-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"138 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01966-3
Zhivko Minchev, Beatriz Ramírez-Serrano, David Giron, Roxina Soler, Víctor Flors, María J. Pozo
Tuta absoluta is an invasive insect pest and major threat to global tomato production, as current management approaches fail to lower its incidence below the targeted economic threshold. While microbe-induced resistance (microbe-IR) is widely documented under controlled conditions, its implementation in the field is challenging due to context-dependency and our limited knowledge on the underlying mechanisms. We recently showed that different fungal bioinoculants reduced the natural incidence of T. absoluta as part of Integrated Pest Management under real production conditions. Here we focus on the underlying mechanisms studying the ability of these fungi to boost tomato direct defenses against the pest and exploring the metabolic changes involved. Trichoderma afroharzianum , Funneliformis mosseae and Rhizophagus irregularis consistently enhanced tomato resistance to T. absoluta across different experimental conditions. Untargeted metabolomics revealed a metabolic reprogramming in leaves of the inoculated plants and primed responses to the attacker associated to the microbe-IR phenotype. Upon herbivory, fungal-inoculated plants showed a limited activation of the carbohydrate and vitamin metabolism, both important for insect nutrition, and an increase of the phenylpropanoid metabolism related to defense. We identified metabolites whose concentrations negatively correlate with T. absoluta fitness and show a primed accumulation in resistant plants. Among them, azelaic acid and feruloylputrescine showed anti-herbivore activity, inhibiting the development of the leaf miner when exogenously applied to tomato plants. The results demonstrate that root-colonizing fungi prime the plant’s ability to activate its secondary metabolism in response to herbivory, triggering microbe-IR that can effectively contribute to control important pests as T. absoluta .
{"title":"Beneficial soil fungi induce resistance to the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta through primed accumulation of antiherbivory compounds","authors":"Zhivko Minchev, Beatriz Ramírez-Serrano, David Giron, Roxina Soler, Víctor Flors, María J. Pozo","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01966-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01966-3","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:italic>Tuta absoluta</jats:italic> is an invasive insect pest and major threat to global tomato production, as current management approaches fail to lower its incidence below the targeted economic threshold. While microbe-induced resistance (microbe-IR) is widely documented under controlled conditions, its implementation in the field is challenging due to context-dependency and our limited knowledge on the underlying mechanisms. We recently showed that different fungal bioinoculants reduced the natural incidence of <jats:italic>T. absoluta</jats:italic> as part of Integrated Pest Management under real production conditions. Here we focus on the underlying mechanisms studying the ability of these fungi to boost tomato direct defenses against the pest and exploring the metabolic changes involved. <jats:italic>Trichoderma afroharzianum</jats:italic> , <jats:italic>Funneliformis mosseae</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Rhizophagus irregularis</jats:italic> consistently enhanced tomato resistance to <jats:italic>T. absoluta</jats:italic> across different experimental conditions. Untargeted metabolomics revealed a metabolic reprogramming in leaves of the inoculated plants and primed responses to the attacker associated to the microbe-IR phenotype. Upon herbivory, fungal-inoculated plants showed a limited activation of the carbohydrate and vitamin metabolism, both important for insect nutrition, and an increase of the phenylpropanoid metabolism related to defense. We identified metabolites whose concentrations negatively correlate with <jats:italic>T. absoluta</jats:italic> fitness and show a primed accumulation in resistant plants. Among them, azelaic acid and feruloylputrescine showed anti-herbivore activity, inhibiting the development of the leaf miner when exogenously applied to tomato plants. The results demonstrate that root-colonizing fungi prime the plant’s ability to activate its secondary metabolism in response to herbivory, triggering microbe-IR that can effectively contribute to control important pests as <jats:italic>T. absoluta</jats:italic> .","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01973-4
Alberto Mele, Nicholas J. Mills, Jessica Canella, Enrico Mirandola, Enrico Ceccato, Paola Tirello, Davide Scaccini, Paul K. Abram, Alberto Pozzebon
Intentional introductions of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) have been carried out in Italy since 2020 for the control of the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), with releases conducted along ecological corridors of untreated vegetation. These introductions took place in an area where unintentionally introduced populations of Trissolcus mitsukurii (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) were already present and adventive populations of T. japonicus were just beginning to establish. In this study, we investigated whether T. japonicus releases contributed to the impact of egg parasitism on H. halys populations, and what the total impact of egg parasitism on pest population growth was over four growing seasons (2020–2023) in ten kiwifruit orchards in Italy. Although higher parasitism by T. japonicus was observed in orchards adjacent to release sites, the total impact of egg parasitism on H. halys remained similar over the four years because an increasing prevalence of T. japonicus over the study period was strongly associated with a corresponding decrease in egg parasitism by T. mitsukurii . Using a parameterized stage-structured matrix model, we estimate that the joint action of T. mitsukurii and T. japonicus (average total egg parasitism: 33–39%) prevented an expected 18–29% increase in net reproductive rate ( R0 ) of H. halys over the four years of the study. This analysis suggests that irrespective of year-to-year temperature variation favoring pest reproduction and the displacement of T. mitsukurii by T. japonicus (hastened by releases), egg parasitism has been playing an important and consistent role in the biological control of H. halys .
{"title":"Population-level impact of egg parasitism on Halyomorpha halys despite a rapid shift in parasitoid species composition","authors":"Alberto Mele, Nicholas J. Mills, Jessica Canella, Enrico Mirandola, Enrico Ceccato, Paola Tirello, Davide Scaccini, Paul K. Abram, Alberto Pozzebon","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01973-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01973-4","url":null,"abstract":"Intentional introductions of the egg parasitoid <jats:italic>Trissolcus japonicus</jats:italic> (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) have been carried out in Italy since 2020 for the control of the invasive <jats:italic>Halyomorpha halys</jats:italic> (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), with releases conducted along ecological corridors of untreated vegetation. These introductions took place in an area where unintentionally introduced populations of <jats:italic>Trissolcus mitsukurii</jats:italic> (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) were already present and adventive populations of <jats:italic>T. japonicus</jats:italic> were just beginning to establish. In this study, we investigated whether <jats:italic>T. japonicus</jats:italic> releases contributed to the impact of egg parasitism on <jats:italic>H. halys</jats:italic> populations, and what the total impact of egg parasitism on pest population growth was over four growing seasons (2020–2023) in ten kiwifruit orchards in Italy. Although higher parasitism by <jats:italic>T. japonicus</jats:italic> was observed in orchards adjacent to release sites, the total impact of egg parasitism on <jats:italic>H. halys</jats:italic> remained similar over the four years because an increasing prevalence of <jats:italic>T. japonicus</jats:italic> over the study period was strongly associated with a corresponding decrease in egg parasitism by <jats:italic>T. mitsukurii</jats:italic> . Using a parameterized stage-structured matrix model, we estimate that the joint action of <jats:italic>T. mitsukurii</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>T. japonicus</jats:italic> (average total egg parasitism: 33–39%) prevented an expected 18–29% increase in net reproductive rate ( <jats:italic>R</jats:italic> <jats:sub> <jats:italic>0</jats:italic> </jats:sub> ) of <jats:italic>H. halys</jats:italic> over the four years of the study. This analysis suggests that irrespective of year-to-year temperature variation favoring pest reproduction and the displacement of <jats:italic>T. mitsukurii</jats:italic> by <jats:italic>T. japonicus</jats:italic> (hastened by releases), egg parasitism has been playing an important and consistent role in the biological control of <jats:italic>H. halys</jats:italic> .","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"2675 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01964-5
Jin-Jia Yu, Warren Booth, Changlu Wang
The widespread resistance of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., to pyrethroid insecticides poses major challenges to effective control. Resistance can be attributed to the presence of target-site DNA mutations and the upregulation of genes associated with metabolic detoxification; the former being easily assessed through sequencing of the para -type voltage-gated sodium channel. While studies have documented kdr- associated mutation frequencies, temporal investigations are lacking at a scale finer than the continental United States level. To address this knowledge gap, we sequenced 227 populations of C. lectularius , primarily collected over a 15 y period (2010–2024) from low-income, multi-unit buildings in New Jersey, to investigate the distribution and temporal dynamics of three kdr -associated mutations: V419L, L925I, and I936F. The V419L mutation was present in 95.3–100% of populations sampled across New Jersey, while it was absent from the five populations sampled in Indiana. Post 2014 the V419L mutation was fixed in all sampled populations. Across all temporal and regional samples, the L925I mutation was fixed (100%), whereas the I936F mutation was absent. Our results indicate that the double mutant, commonly referred to as haplotype C, is the predominant genotype across all populations, with haplotype B (L925I mutation only) absent after 2014. The prevalence of kdr- associated mutations emphasizes the need for continued resistance monitoring in concert with research into the evolution of resistance mechanisms to support future bed bug management.
{"title":"Widespread fixation of kdr-associated mutations in temporal samples of Cimex lectularius collected from multi-unit buildings","authors":"Jin-Jia Yu, Warren Booth, Changlu Wang","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01964-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01964-5","url":null,"abstract":"The widespread resistance of the common bed bug, <jats:italic>Cimex lectularius</jats:italic> L., to pyrethroid insecticides poses major challenges to effective control. Resistance can be attributed to the presence of target-site DNA mutations and the upregulation of genes associated with metabolic detoxification; the former being easily assessed through sequencing of the <jats:italic>para</jats:italic> -type voltage-gated sodium channel. While studies have documented <jats:italic>kdr-</jats:italic> associated mutation frequencies, temporal investigations are lacking at a scale finer than the continental United States level. To address this knowledge gap, we sequenced 227 populations of <jats:italic>C. lectularius</jats:italic> , primarily collected over a 15 y period (2010–2024) from low-income, multi-unit buildings in New Jersey, to investigate the distribution and temporal dynamics of three <jats:italic>kdr</jats:italic> -associated mutations: V419L, L925I, and I936F. The V419L mutation was present in 95.3–100% of populations sampled across New Jersey, while it was absent from the five populations sampled in Indiana. Post 2014 the V419L mutation was fixed in all sampled populations. Across all temporal and regional samples, the L925I mutation was fixed (100%), whereas the I936F mutation was absent. Our results indicate that the double mutant, commonly referred to as haplotype C, is the predominant genotype across all populations, with haplotype B (L925I mutation only) absent after 2014. The prevalence of <jats:italic>kdr-</jats:italic> associated mutations emphasizes the need for continued resistance monitoring in concert with research into the evolution of resistance mechanisms to support future bed bug management.","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"115 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680312","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01989-w
Reyna Vargas-Abasolo, Liliana Aguilar-Marcelino, Stephany Rodríguez-González, Jorge Cime-Castillo, Alex Córdoba-Aguilar
One of the greatest risks humanity faces is the threat posed by mosquitoes of medical importance. Mosquitoes’ risk is enhanced by their increasing resistance to synthetic insecticides, which presents a critical concern to conventional control programs and human health and environmental safety. Given the urgent need for effective and sustainable alternatives, we need commercial products that simultaneously offer environmental sustainability, availability, and affordability. In this review, we examine and evaluate a range of substances with potential applications in mosquito monitoring and control strategies, including molecules produced by mosquitoes themselves, as well as compounds of both organic and inorganic origin. The lethal and sublethal effects of botanical and microbial insecticides such as essential oils and plant or bacterial extracts are discussed, with emphasis on their activity as ovicides, larvicides, adulticides, repellents, or oviposition deterrents. Innovative formulations, including micro- and nanostructured delivery systems, are also highlighted. In addition, the non-target effects of these biosolutions are considered, and their practical feasibility is evaluated. Finally, we identify key research challenges aimed at improving the efficacy, safety, and practical applicability of these tools, which are essential for the development of more sustainable mosquito control strategies.
{"title":"Nature-inspired solutions: semiochemical, botanical, and microbial tools, for mosquito management","authors":"Reyna Vargas-Abasolo, Liliana Aguilar-Marcelino, Stephany Rodríguez-González, Jorge Cime-Castillo, Alex Córdoba-Aguilar","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01989-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01989-w","url":null,"abstract":"One of the greatest risks humanity faces is the threat posed by mosquitoes of medical importance. Mosquitoes’ risk is enhanced by their increasing resistance to synthetic insecticides, which presents a critical concern to conventional control programs and human health and environmental safety. Given the urgent need for effective and sustainable alternatives, we need commercial products that simultaneously offer environmental sustainability, availability, and affordability. In this review, we examine and evaluate a range of substances with potential applications in mosquito monitoring and control strategies, including molecules produced by mosquitoes themselves, as well as compounds of both organic and inorganic origin. The lethal and sublethal effects of botanical and microbial insecticides such as essential oils and plant or bacterial extracts are discussed, with emphasis on their activity as ovicides, larvicides, adulticides, repellents, or oviposition deterrents. Innovative formulations, including micro- and nanostructured delivery systems, are also highlighted. In addition, the non-target effects of these biosolutions are considered, and their practical feasibility is evaluated. Finally, we identify key research challenges aimed at improving the efficacy, safety, and practical applicability of these tools, which are essential for the development of more sustainable mosquito control strategies.","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01999-8
Jay A. Rosenheim, Michael Culshaw-Maurer
Pesticides support crop production, enhancing global food security, but are associated with serious environmental and health risks. Factors that promote overuse of pesticides are therefore of great concern. Pest control advisors (PCAs) are agricultural professionals who scout fields for pests and may recommend pesticide applications. We test two hypotheses regarding the influence of PCAs on pesticide use by California farmers, contrasting four groups: independent PCAs, sales PCAs, farm-staff PCAs, and farmer PCAs. The long-discussed conflict of interest hypothesis posits that sales commissions earned by PCAs who work for agricultural chemical retailers (“sales PCAs”) incentivize pesticide use; it predicts elevated use of all pesticides by farmers advised by sales PCAs. The risk aversion hypothesis posits that the risk of damaging pest outbreaks incentivizes pesticide use; it predicts elevated pesticide use when targeting pests that can exhibit outbreaks (arthropods and plant pathogens) but not when targeting non-outbreak pests (weeds). We assembled a dataset of pesticide use on nearly 600,000 crop-years grown in California from 2012 to 2021 by farmers advised by different types of PCAs. Our analysis provides little to no support for the conflict of interest hypothesis; farmers advised by sales PCAs used slightly less pesticides than farmers advised by independent PCAs (who receive no sales commission). Instead, our analysis reveals pesticide use consistent with the risk aversion hypothesis, with elevated use of pesticides by one group of PCAs (farm-staff) when managing arthropods and pathogens, but not when managing weeds. Risk aversion, rather than sales commissions, may be shaping pesticide use in California.
{"title":"Conflicts of interest, risk aversion, and pesticide use in California agriculture","authors":"Jay A. Rosenheim, Michael Culshaw-Maurer","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01999-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01999-8","url":null,"abstract":"Pesticides support crop production, enhancing global food security, but are associated with serious environmental and health risks. Factors that promote overuse of pesticides are therefore of great concern. Pest control advisors (PCAs) are agricultural professionals who scout fields for pests and may recommend pesticide applications. We test two hypotheses regarding the influence of PCAs on pesticide use by California farmers, contrasting four groups: independent PCAs, sales PCAs, farm-staff PCAs, and farmer PCAs. The long-discussed conflict of interest hypothesis posits that sales commissions earned by PCAs who work for agricultural chemical retailers (“sales PCAs”) incentivize pesticide use; it predicts elevated use of all pesticides by farmers advised by sales PCAs. The risk aversion hypothesis posits that the risk of damaging pest outbreaks incentivizes pesticide use; it predicts elevated pesticide use when targeting pests that can exhibit outbreaks (arthropods and plant pathogens) but not when targeting non-outbreak pests (weeds). We assembled a dataset of pesticide use on nearly 600,000 crop-years grown in California from 2012 to 2021 by farmers advised by different types of PCAs. Our analysis provides little to no support for the conflict of interest hypothesis; farmers advised by sales PCAs used slightly less pesticides than farmers advised by independent PCAs (who receive no sales commission). Instead, our analysis reveals pesticide use consistent with the risk aversion hypothesis, with elevated use of pesticides by one group of PCAs (farm-staff) when managing arthropods and pathogens, but not when managing weeds. Risk aversion, rather than sales commissions, may be shaping pesticide use in California.","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1007/s10340-025-01972-5
Zifei Xie, Yuping Zhang, Yijuan Xu
{"title":"Symbiotic bacteria modulate parasitic wasp fitness: mechanisms and applications in sustainable pest management","authors":"Zifei Xie, Yuping Zhang, Yijuan Xu","doi":"10.1007/s10340-025-01972-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-025-01972-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16736,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Pest Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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