Tropical cropping systems are highly dependent on synthetic insecticides, which generates sustainability issues. We performed a bibliometric analysis of the current insecticide literature (2017–2019) and used the Sustainable Development Goals roadmap to identify research topics in insecticide research that should be promoted to attain sustainable cropping systems. Bioinsecticides and integrated pest management were identified as potential substitutes for synthetic insecticides while insecticide contamination, degradation and impacts on non-target organisms were pinpointed as topics with the potential to lessen detrimental effects of synthetic insecticides. We also highlighted how peculiarities specific to the tropics (tropical climate, high biodiversity, strong traditional knowledge, insecticide regulations, lack of local scientific data, and farmer training through extension services) affect the identified research topics and why they should be taken into account. We finally suggest to combine the identified research topics in order to promote research synergies across disciplines.

热带种植系统高度依赖合成杀虫剂，这会产生可持续性问题。我们对当前的杀虫剂文献（2017-2019年）进行了文献计量分析，并使用了《可持续发展目标》路线图来确定杀虫剂研究中的研究主题，应促进这些主题以实现可持续的种植系统。生物杀虫剂和病虫害综合治理被确定为合成杀虫剂的潜在替代品，而杀虫剂的污染，降解和对非目标生物的影响则被确定为具有减轻合成杀虫剂有害作用的潜力。我们还强调了热带地区的特殊性（热带气候，生物多样性高，传统知识丰富，杀虫剂法规，缺乏当地科学数据，以及通过推广服务进行的农民培训）会影响已确定的研究主题以及为什么要考虑这些主题。最后，我们建议结合已确定的研究主题，以促进跨学科的研究协同作用。