Biological Control in Food Crops

A special issue of Crops (ISSN 2673-7655).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2024 | Viewed by 1356

Special Issue Editors

1. Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
2. Laboratório para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Interests: conservation biological control; plant–arthropod interactions; landscape ecology; arthropod ecology; agroecology; sustainability
1. ESAS, Santarém Polytechnic University, Quinta do Galinheiro, S. Pedro, 1001-904 Santarém, Portugal
2 Research Centre for Natural Resources Environment and Society (CERNAS), Santarém Polytechnic University, Quinta do Galinheiro, S. Pedro, 1001-904 Santarém, Portugal
3 Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Laboratório Associado para a Sustentabilidade e Tecnologia em Regiões de Montanha (SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Interests: agricultural entomology; IPM; biological control; insect dispersal; insect biolo-gy-ecology; agroecology; landscape ecology; sustainable agriculture
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the current context of environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change, a shift to more sustainable production of food systems is mandatory to guarantee the quality of life current and future human populations. One of the main challenges of food production is pests and diseases. In many cases, these are controlled using chemical products, which are responsible for harmful effects on the environment and health, as well as an increase in inputs for producers. Biological control arises as a promising strategy to assist producers in pest and diseases control by increasing food quality and quantity, reducing the negative impact of chemical products, and improving the producer’s incomes. However, the knowledge about biological control in many food systems is insufficient for the achievement of those ambitions. In this Special Issue, contributions to biological control in food crops are welcome. Research articles, reviews and opinion letters may include, but are not limited to: (i) pest/diseases population reductions through biological control; (ii) the improvement of food quality, quantity and producers’ incomes through biological control; (iii) comparisons between chemical applications and biological control (e.g., environmental or health impacts, crop incomes); (iv) natural control agents efficiency; (v) natural control agents ecology (living requirements, resources preferences); (vi) interactions between management and landscape factors on biological control; and (vii) interactions (e.g., trophic interactions) among organisms within the system.

Dr. María Villa
Dr. Filipe Madeira
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. Crops is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1000 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

  • biological control
  • pests
  • diseases
  • natural control agents
  • food production
  • food quality
  • food security
  • food sustainability

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

12 pages, 526 KiB  
Review
Root Exudate Metabolites Alter Food Crops Microbiomes, Impacting Plant Biocontrol and Growth
by Shimaila Ali and Bernard R. Glick
Crops 2024, 4(1), 43-54; https://doi.org/10.3390/crops4010004 - 08 Feb 2024
Viewed by 540
Abstract
Exuded plant metabolites play an important role in fostering beneficial interactions with the surrounding soil microbiota, thereby helping plants to better adjust to changing environmental conditions. These metabolites act as signals to attract or enhance the colonization of plant roots with specific groups [...] Read more.
Exuded plant metabolites play an important role in fostering beneficial interactions with the surrounding soil microbiota, thereby helping plants to better adjust to changing environmental conditions. These metabolites act as signals to attract or enhance the colonization of plant roots with specific groups of beneficial microbes and they modulate the dynamics of plant–microbe interactions in fulfilling plant niche-based requirements, directly and/or indirectly. This review emphasizes the expression, levels, modes of action, and net effects of the signaling metabolites that help food crop plants to become colonized by microbes that promote plant growth and development under periods of biotic stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Control in Food Crops)
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