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Special Issue "Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides"

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A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Pest and Disease Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2023 | Viewed by 6720

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Dr. Maria Céu Lavado da Silva

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Guest Editor

Centro de Investigação das Ferrugens do Cafeeiro (CIFC), Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center (LEAF), Associated Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: plant pathology; plant–microbe interactions; coffee leaf rust; coffee berry disease; plant defense responses; microbial mechanisms of pathogenicity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Carmenza E. Góngora

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Cenicafé, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones de Café, Federcafé, Manizales, Colombia
Interests: entomology; insect–coffee plant interactions; insect-entomopathogenic fungi interactions; gene bioprospecting; biotechnology breeding and gene editing of plants and fungi; coffee tissue culture; coffee fermentation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Crop diseases and pests may cause considerable yield losses and threaten food supply and security. Moreover, there is clear evidence that the geographical distribution of several pathogens and pests is expanding due to climate changes and increasing global trade.

Regular ways of pest and disease control based only on the use of synthetic pesticides are no longer effective or sustainable because their intensive application negatively affects the environment, human health, and biodiversity. Moreover, one of the challenges is the development of resistance in pests and pathogens toward these pesticides, making them less efficient or not efficient at all. Thus, to ensure better control and ecological sustainability, it is crucial to reduce pesticides by adopting alternative strategies to maintain the pest/pathogen populations below the economic injury level and toward reaching the European Green Deal.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and reviews addressing the current research advances on major diseases and pests of various crops along with appropriate and innovative control methods to minimize the impacts and risks of pesticides in order to reach a resource-efficient and competitive agriculture.

Dr. Maria Céu Lavado da Silva
Dr. Carmenza E. Góngora
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Agronomy 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 2200 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

integrated pest and disease management
decision-support systems
competitive agriculture
impact of climate change
resistance breeding
biological control
cultural practices
plant resistance inducers
mechanisms of plant resistance/tolerance

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Caffeine Oleate Formulation as an Insecticide to Control Coffee Berry Borer, Hypothenemus hampei, and Other Coffee Pests

and

Agronomy 2023, 13(6), 1554; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061554 - 05 Jun 2023

Viewed by 208

Abstract

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari, 1867) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is the pest that causes the most economic damage to coffee crops. Chemical control of this insect is based on the use of insecticides that can affect the environment and nontarget organisms. Despite the fact that caffeine has shown potential as an insecticide, a caffeine-based product for field use is currently not available on the market. As a new alternative to control CBB and other coffee pests, such as Monalonion velezangeli Carvalho and Costa, 1988 (Hemiptera: Miridae), a caffeine-oleate was developed. The caffeine oleate formulation showed laboratory efficacy by causing mortality of more than 90% of CBB adults in preventive tests in which the insecticide was sprayed prior to insect attack on the coffee fruits. In the curative tests, in which spraying occurred after CBB infested the fruits, the formulation caused 77% mortality of the insects. Under controlled field conditions, the product kept CBB infestation below 20%, reducing the number of fruits attacked by the insect by up to 70%. In addition, no phytotoxic effects were observed in coffee plants. The insecticide was also effective against M. velezangeli, causing 100% mortality. A caffeine oleate formulation that could be part of a strategy for integrated CBB management as well as other pests of coffee was developed. The components of the insecticide are food grade, and the product would provide greater security to the coffee ecosystem and coffee growers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides)

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Open AccessArticle

Development of a Predictive Model of the Flight Dynamics of the European Corn Borer, Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner, 1796 (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), in the Vojvodina Region, Serbia—Implications for Integrated Pest Management

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Agronomy 2023, 13(6), 1494; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061494 - 29 May 2023

Viewed by 561

Abstract

Although corn production is affected by several harmful insects, its most important pest in the southeastern region of Europe is the European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner, 1796 (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Chemical control of O. nubilalis remains the main strategy in conventional corn production. The key to successfully achieving a high efficiency of insecticides is determining the appropriate moment of application, including the exact time in the insect’s life cycle when it is most vulnerable. In this study, monitoring data on the flight dynamics of ECB adults from a seven-year period (2014–2020) were exploited for the development of a predictive model of adult numbers within the growing season. ECB monitoring was performed by using light traps at 15 different locations in the Vojvodina region (Serbia) during the specified time period. First, the calendar for Vojvodina was created based on the analytics of the collected monitoring data. Additionally, the calendar was converted to the probability of ECB occurrence during the growing season, specifying the time interval between the appearance of each generation of the pest. Second, using machine learning techniques, a phenological model was designed that included daily values of relevant meteorological features, such as cumulative degree-days, relative humidity, and precipitation. The calendar had a lower prediction error when compared to the phenological model, and it was tested as a supporting management tool for the ECB in 2021, with a root-mean-square error of the number of adults of 46.67. Such an approach could significantly reduce both the consumption of insecticides and the number of chemical treatments, respectively. Above all, this approach has broad potential in IPM and organic farming, and it is fully compatible with biological control methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides)

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Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Laboratory Investigation of Five Inert Dusts of Local Origin as Insecticides against the Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata [Say])

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Agronomy 2023, 13(4), 1165; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13041165 - 19 Apr 2023

Viewed by 524

Abstract

The Colorado potato beetle (CPB) is an economically important pest on potatoes, which can cause significant damage if not controlled. Our laboratory trial was conducted to study the efficacy of five types of inert dusts (diatomaceous earth, quartz sand, Norway spruce wood ash, zeolite, and tree of heaven leaf dust) against the CPB. Efficacy was tested using three modes of application (MoA): MoA 1, in which the used inert dusts were applied to both leaves and insects; MoA 2, where just the leaves were pre-dusted; and MoA 3, where only the pests were pre-dusted. All three modes were tested on larvae (L1/L2 and L3/L4) and adults of CPB. Among the inert dusts applied to the adults, the highest efficacy was recorded for the diatomaceous earth treatment (13.3 ± 3.3%) in the first MoA and the wood ash treatment (6.7 ± 3.3%) in the second MoA after 7 days of exposure. Defoliation results for adults were most promising in the A. altissima leaf dust treatment in the first and second MoA (45.3 ± 8.2%) after 7 days of exposure. For the old larvae, wood ash was the most promising in regards to efficacy (26.7 ± 7.3%) and defoliation (app. 70.0%) after 7 days of exposure in the third MoA. For the young larvae, the most promising results at the end of the 7-day exposure period for efficacy were obtained from the treatment of diatomaceous earth (65.7 ± 22.9%). Defoliation rates for young larvae were also high, but most promising in the treatment of A. altissima leaf dust (41.0 ± 4.2%) in the second MoA. The results showed that the inert dusts were not very effective in controlling the CPB, with the exception of wood ash and diatomaceous earth, which showed some limited control. A. altissima leaf dust generated a low defoliation rate, possibly due to an antifeedant effect on the beetles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides)

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Open AccessArticle

Identification of HIR, EDS1 and PAD4 Genes Reveals Differences between Coffea Species That May Impact Disease Resistance

Sílvia Tavares

Helena Azinheira

Javier Valverde

A. Jesus Muñoz-Pajares

Pedro Talhinhas

and

Maria do Céu Silva

Agronomy 2023, 13(4), 992; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13040992 - 28 Mar 2023

Viewed by 581

Abstract

Coffee, a widely consumed important agricultural product, is mainly produced from two species, Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) and C. canephora (Robusta coffee). Timor Hybrid (HDT) is a population resulting from a natural cross between C. arabica and C. canephora. HDT derivatives have a high spectrum of resistance to different races of Hemileia vastatrix (Hv), the causal agent of coffee leaf rust. A RNAseq database, obtained from HDT832/2 leaves inoculated with Hv (Host Resistance) and Uromyces vignae (Uv, Nonhost Resistance), showed the presence of genes implicated in the hypersensitive response and salicylic acid pathway. Hypersensitive Induced Reaction (HIR) gene family, Enhanced Disease Susceptibility1 gene (EDS1), and Phytoalexin Deficient 4 (PAD4) gene are involved in host and nonhost resistance. Relative expression calculated by RT-qPCR was used to confirm and expand the transcriptome analysis. HDTHIR4, HDTEDS1, and HDTPAD4 showed the highest upregulation in response to Hv and Uv inoculation, confirming a similar trend in host and nonhost resistance in HDT. HIR and EDS1/PAD4 gene families were characterized for the first time in the three available Coffea genomes. HIR genes were quite conserved between Coffea species. Surprisingly, EDS1 and PAD4 genes revealed major differences in gene structure. The PAD4 predicted protein from C. arabica does not include both conserved domains of the EDS1/PAD4 family, and the EDS1 putative protein from C. canephora includes a formin domain unusual in the same protein family. The variability shown by EDS1/PAD4 gene family may impact the disease resistance response of Coffea species, which can be surveyed for the gene sequences that will produce a more resistant phenotype. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides)

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Open AccessArticle

Identification of Resistance to the Corn Weevil (Sitophilus zeamais M.) in Mexican Maize Races (Zea mays L.)

José Cruz Jiménez-Galindo

Adán Castillo-Rosales

Gloria Castellanos-Pérez

Francisco Orozco-González

Adalberto Ortega-Ortega

Daniel Padilla-Chacón

Ana Butrón

Pedro Revilla

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Rosa Ana Malvar

Agronomy 2023, 13(2), 312; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020312 - 19 Jan 2023

Viewed by 727

Abstract

Sitophilus zeamais (Motsch.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) has a global distribution and is one of the most important post-harvest pests of maize (Zea mays L.). Some Mexican maize races could be a novel source of resistance against S. zeamais to improve commercial maize, generating lines, varieties, and hybrids with resistance to the pest. These are original races from the center of origin of maize and have been exposed to selection pressure from S. zeamais and other pests for thousands of years, which probably resulted in some type of resistance. We studied the resistance of Mexican maize races to S. zeamais focusing on antixenosis, antibiosis, and tolerance. Antibiosis reduces the survival and reproduction of the insect or prolongs the time between generations, whereas antixenosis reduces the rate of initial and successive accumulation of the insect population. Obligate-antibiosis and free-choice bioassays were performed, and in those experiments, resistance traits and the consumption by S. zeamais were measured. The most resistant accession showed high adult mortality and fewer adults in the 1st generation, where the number of emerged adults is an ideal trait to evaluate the level of maize resistance to the pest. Net consumption (in grams) is the most economically important trait because it indicates the gross amount lost in a store, while yield losses (percentage of consumption) allow for studying tolerance. The type of endosperm did have an influence on the resistance/tolerance to S. zeamais. The flint varieties showed significantly higher mortality of adults before entering the seed, a lower quantity of emerged adults of the first generation in the obligate-antibiosis bioassay, and lower net consumption and percentage in both bioassays. In general, the varieties of the races Cristalino de Chihuahua, Apachito, and Azul showed high levels of resistance, with the Cristalino-079 (flint) and Azul (floury) accessions also being tolerant, and low levels of consumption by S. zeamais. Both could be used in breeding programs to reduce losses caused by S. zeamais. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides)

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Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Assessment of Resistance Mechanisms to Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda in Tropical Maize Inbred Lines

Ovide Nuambote-Yobila

Boddupalli Maruthi Prasanna

Frédéric Marion-Poll

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Paul-André Calatayud

Agronomy 2023, 13(1), 203; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13010203 - 09 Jan 2023

Viewed by 679

Abstract

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, a pest of maize native to the Americas first reported in West and Central Africa in 2016, severely threatens maize production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Native genetic resistance is one of the best methods of control of insect pests as it is contained in the seed making it more amenable for use by farmers compared to other interventions and it is also compatible with other integrated pest management (IPM) options. An intensive screening against FAW was carried out by artificial infestation in greenhouse conditions in Kenya between 2017 and 2018 on about 3000 inbred lines available in the germplasm collection of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Among these lines, only four showed to be resistant to FAW, but the mechanisms of resistance are not yet known. The objective of this study was to determine the resistance mechanisms specifically non-preference and antibiosis to S. frugiperda in these four selected resistant inbred lines. The studies were conducted under laboratory and net house conditions in Kenya from April 2020 to November 2021. Non-preference was assessed estimating the feeding preference by counting the number of FAW neonates found on each leaf portion, silk portion and grain using binary and multiple choice methods under laboratory conditions, while antibiosis was assessed through the relative growth rate (RGR) and developmental time of FAW larvae on leaves, silks and grains under both laboratory and net house conditions. Among the four resistant maize inbred lines tested, two, namely CML71 and CKSBL10008, exhibited the highest level of antibiosis resistance on leaves. Under laboratory conditions, the larval RGR reduced from 13 mg/d on the most susceptible line to 8 mg/d on CML71. CML71 also showed a good non-preference on leaves compared to other tested lines. Only 6% of neonates choose to feed on CML71 whereas more than 10% choose to feed on the other lines (and 15% on the most susceptible) in multiple choice tests. The non-preference for feeding and lower RGR of larvae on CML71 suggest a biochemical involvement resistance to FAW. Through this study, CML71 is revealed as a highly promising line for use in breeding for native genetic resistance to FAW in tropical maize. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides)

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Open AccessArticle

Laboratory and Field Performance of Metarhizium anisopliae Isolate ICIPE 41 for Sustainable Control of the Invasive Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Joseph Munywoki

Leonidah Kerubo Omosa

Sevgan Subramanian

David Kupesa Mfuti

Ezekiel Mugendi Njeru

Vaderament-A. Nchiozem-Ngnitedem

and

Komivi Senyo Akutse

Agronomy 2022, 12(11), 2636; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12112636 - 26 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1102

Abstract

To overcome the negative impacts of invasive fall armyworm (FAW), this study assessed the laboratory and field efficacy of aqueous and oil-based formulations of Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE 41 as an alternative source for FAW management. Three oil formulations, including canola, corn and olive oils and an aqueous formulation of ICIPE 41, were assessed against the second-instar larvae of FAW in the laboratory. Field experiments were also conducted at Mbita and Migori, Kenya, using the formulation that performed best in the lab, with four treatments: (a) A corn oil formulation of ICIPE 41; (b) Mazao Achieve^® biopesticide, with the M. anisopliae ICIPE 78 strain as the active ingredient; (c) spinetoram-based synthetic pesticide; (d) a control (water + corn oil). FAW incidence, infestation, larval mortality and the effects on parasitoids and yield were evaluated. The laboratory results showed no significant differences in the efficacies among the oil-based formulations, with mortality rates of >70% and an LT₅₀ of ~2 days compared to 15.15% in the controls with an LT₅₀ of 8.11days. Under the field conditions, no significant differences in the FAW infestation were observed between ICIPE 41 and Mazao Achieve^®, compared to the control treatments in both agro-ecological zones. From the field-collected samples, both fugal-based biopesticides exhibited high mortality and mycosis rates, with no negative impacts on Cotesia icipe compared to the spinetoram pesticide. There were significant differences in the total grain yields among the treatments in Mbita and Migori. Therefore, ICIPE 41 formulated with corn oil could be used for sustainable FAW management in maize cropping systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides)

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Open AccessArticle

Use of Phosphonate Salts to Control Chestnut ‘Brown Rot’ by Gnomoniopsis castaneae in Fruit Orchards of Castanea sativa

Giorgia Bastianelli

Carmen Morales-Rodríguez

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Agronomy 2022, 12(10), 2434; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102434 - 08 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1575

Abstract

The fungus Gnomoniopsis castaneae is the causal agent of the “brown rot” of sweet chestnut fruits. These days, this pathogen represents one of the main limiting factors for the sustainability of fruit production worldwide. Although heat treatment post-harvest is efficient in completely inactivating the pathogen, the application of appropriate protocols to control “brown rot” in chestnut orchards is required to help in reducing the latent population of the fungus in fruit tissues, and the consequent development of “brown rot” symptoms in the field before the post-harvest handling process. The present study aims to evaluate and compare the efficiency of products at a minimum environmental impact in experimental trials conducted in chestnut orchards in Central Italy for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020. Phosphonate-based salts and, specifically, Zn-phosphonate were efficient in reducing the impact of the disease and the pathogen inoculum in fruits with an efficacy comparable to the fungicide Tebuconazole. A unique treatment at the blooming time produced the best results for both Zn-phosphonate and Tebuconazole, also giving indirect evidence of female flowers as a main site of infection. Phosphonate salts, and at first Zn-phosphonate, are highly effective to protect chestnut fruits from the ‘brown rot’ fungus G. castaneae. Its use in orchard management may complement the post-harvest heat treatment during the processing of fruits. Although a still ongoing debate on phosphonate salts use and efficacy in agriculture, they can be considered an optimal fungicide in chestnut orchards because of the low environmental impact when used at the recommended doses, the high translocability and stability, and the multiple mechanisms of action. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Crop Diseases and Pests to Reduce Pesticides)

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