Agrochemical Ecology

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pests and Weeds".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2023) | Viewed by 4369

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
1. College of Grassland Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
2. Institute of Plant Protection, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China
Interests: insect; pheromone; semiochemicals; behavior; chemoreception; olfaction; insect pests management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
Interests: insect olfaction; neuron physiology; molecular mechanism
Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany
Interests: chemical defense; Tri-trophic interaction; biochemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chemical communications are crucial for individuals to survive and populations to thrive in ecological systems. A greater understanding of chemical communication could lead to improvements in reproductive efficiency and animal welfare, the culture of crops and microorganisms, as well as pest management in terrestrial and aquatic agricultural activities. Therefore, this Special Issue devotes to reporting the progress in origin, function, and significance of natural chemicals that may be applied to regulate the interactions within and between organisms in agricultural ecosystems.

The contributions may include the original research on substantive observations of chemical mediating interactions, the elucidation of mechanisms of chemical signals production and reception, the application of natural chemical signals in the regulation of animals, the culture of crops and microorganisms, and pest management. Review articles and short communications are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Long Zhang
Dr. Xingcong Jiang
Dr. Ruo Sun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture 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.

Keywords

  • chemical ecology
  • agricultural system
  • chemical communications
  • animals
  • crops
  • microorganisms
  • insect pests management
  • chemoreception

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3831 KiB  
Article
The Aversive Response of the Locust Locusta migratoria to 3-Octanone, an Odorant from Fungal Pathogens, Is Mediated by a Chemosensory Protein
by Xiao Xu, Long Zhang and Xingbo Zhao
Agriculture 2023, 13(8), 1542; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13081542 - 02 Aug 2023
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Abstract
(1) Locusts are important agricultural pests. Identifying harmful substances and avoiding them is important for locusts’ survival; their abilities to do so remain to be clarified. (2) We examined the electrophysiological (electroantennogram (EAG) and single sensillum recording (SSR)) and behavioral responses (preference behavior [...] Read more.
(1) Locusts are important agricultural pests. Identifying harmful substances and avoiding them is important for locusts’ survival; their abilities to do so remain to be clarified. (2) We examined the electrophysiological (electroantennogram (EAG) and single sensillum recording (SSR)) and behavioral responses (preference behavior in a T-maze) of locusts to 18 different compounds; (3) Of these 18 compounds, 9 elicited strong EAG responses, and 3 elicited SSR responses of neurons expressing locust odorant receptor 3 (LmigOR3). The 11 chemicals that elicited stronger EAG or SSR responses were selected for evaluation of the behavioral responses of locusts. Only 2-heptanone induced significant attraction responses in locusts at the tested concentration. RNA interference (RNAi) of LmigOR3 and SSR experiments revealed that LmigOR3 could detect 2-heptanone and 3-octanone. However, in behavioral experiments, RNAi of LmigOR3 did not alter 2-heptanone-induced attraction but increased attraction by 3-octanone. (4) Our results suggest that the broadly tuned receptor expressed in a heterologous expression system exhibits a narrow electrophysiological response spectrum, and the aversive response of locusts to 3-octanone, an odorant from fungal pathogens, natural enemies, and non-host plants, is mediated by LmigOR3. These findings enhance our understanding of the complex olfactory recognition mechanism in insects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agrochemical Ecology)
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14 pages, 1950 KiB  
Article
Combinatorial Olfactory Signaling in Short-Distance Determines Host Plant Recognition in Locust
by Xueqin Pan, Jun Liu, Xiao Xu, Liwei Zhang and Long Zhang
Agriculture 2023, 13(5), 1030; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13051030 - 09 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1739
Abstract
Selecting palatable plants matters for insect herbivores’ survival, especially for food-restricted oligophagous and monophagous species. However, the definite selection strategy to distinguish host plants from nonhost plants, as well as the underlying sensory basis, remains controversial. Here, we investigated the olfactory recognition of [...] Read more.
Selecting palatable plants matters for insect herbivores’ survival, especially for food-restricted oligophagous and monophagous species. However, the definite selection strategy to distinguish host plants from nonhost plants, as well as the underlying sensory basis, remains controversial. Here, we investigated the olfactory recognition of host plants in oligophagous migratory locusts. By establishing one novel behavioral paradigm that allowed the free-moving locusts to make olfactory choices in short-distance, we demonstrated that palps were required to differentiate host plants apart from nonhost counterparts sensitively. Specifically, the characteristic odors between the host plant and nonhost plant defined the behavioral differentiation of food sources, and this process required intact palps. Further, single nonhost odor suppressed the behavioral potency to host plant extraction, while single host odor attenuated the behavioral repulsion to nonhost plant. We also identified the palps odorant receptors (ORs) repertoire that modulated the short-range recognition of key volatiles from host plants and nonhost and demonstrated that combinatorial olfactory signaling controls food choice. Our results support a “pull–push” model in which olfactory signaling on locust palps acts as a key tuning modulator in host plant recognition, expanding the knowledge of insect chemosensation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agrochemical Ecology)
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14 pages, 4390 KiB  
Article
Droplet Penetration Model Based on Canopy Porosity for Spraying Applications
by Yu Ru, Chenming Hu, Xuyang Chen, Fengbo Yang, Chao Zhang, Jianping Li and Shuping Fang
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 339; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020339 - 30 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1356
Abstract
Analysing the penetration and droplet deposition characteristics in the canopy of fruit trees is critical for optimising the operational parameters of air-assisted spraying equipment, achieving precise application of chemicals, and improving the effectiveness of fruit tree pest and disease control. We used a [...] Read more.
Analysing the penetration and droplet deposition characteristics in the canopy of fruit trees is critical for optimising the operational parameters of air-assisted spraying equipment, achieving precise application of chemicals, and improving the effectiveness of fruit tree pest and disease control. We used a mobile LIDAR system to detect the tree canopy characteristics and optical porosity and conduct wind tunnel experiments to investigate the interaction between the tree canopy, the airflow field, and the droplet penetration ratio in the canopy of fruit trees. The results show that the relative wind velocity decreases rapidly during canopy penetration, and that the minimum value occurs at the back of the canopy. The smaller the optical porosity, the greater the reduction in wind velocity is. The quadratic exponential regression model had the highest coefficient of determination (R2) (0.9672) and the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) (5.56%). This paper provides information on optimising the spraying parameters, improving the pesticide utilisation rate, and selecting the optimum spraying conditions and application parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agrochemical Ecology)
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