In order to guarantee sustainability and progress, the agrochemical industry is faced with several major challenges. Currently, the ongoing loss of active ingredients due to consumer perceptions, changing grower needs and ever‐changing regulatory requirements is far higher than their number being introduced into the market.

The plant bug Lygus pratensis Linnaeus is a widely‐distributed polyphagous herbivore that increasingly attains outbreak population levels on cotton in northwestern China. Though the sex pheromone of L. pratensis from the United Kingdom has been identified as hexyl butyrate, (E)‐2‐hexenyl butyrate and (E)‐4‐oxo‐2‐hexenal, at a ratio of 100:25:24, this volatile blend does not prove attractive to Chinese

F. fujikuroi is a plant pathogen that causes rice bakanae disease. Prochloraz is an imidazole‐class sterol 14α‐demethylase inhibitor (DMI), which has been in use for several years as a foliar spray to control Fusarium spp. on agriculturally important monocot crops. F. fujikuroi is highly resistant to prochloraz treatment, and the aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism by which F. fujikuroi

Allelochemicals can act as biopesticides or enhance the action of synthetic pesticides. In this work, we assessed the bioavailability of the allelochemical coumarin in soils amended with fresh or field‐aged biochars. The fresh biochar from oak wood (Fresh BC) was prepared at 550 °C and was buried for aging in two different places: in a sandy loam soil in Spain for 15 months (Aged BC_1) and a sandy

Studying the intimate association of arthropods with their physical substrate is both important and challenging. It is important because substrate is a key determinant for organism fitness; challenging because the intricacies of this association are dynamic, and difficult to record and resolve. The advent of electropenetrography (EPG) and subsequent developments allowed researchers to overcome this

Myclobutanil is one of the most widely used demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides for the management of apple scab, caused by Venturia inaequalis. Strains of V. inaequalis resistant to myclobutanil have been reported across the world. Tebuconazole, another DMI fungicide, has been proposed as an alternative to myclobutanil, and the extent of cross‐resistance with myclobutanil therefore needs to be

Precise quantification of the fitness cost of synthetic auxins resistance has been impeded by lack of knowledge for the genetic basis of resistance in weeds. Recent elucidation of a resistance endowing IAA16 mutation (G73N) in a key weed species kochia (Bassia scoparia), allows detailed characterization of the contribution of resistance alleles to weed fitness, both in the presence and absence of herbicides

Moose (Alces alces L.) populations and moose damage in forests are debated in Nordic countries with dense moose populations. Moose populations and food resources greatly vary, both spatially and temporally, and reliable data covering both variables simultaneously at the same scale have seldom been available. We modelled the effect of moose population density and forest resources on the area of moose

Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a major quarantine pest in forestry industry. It is widely distributed throughout many regions such as Asia, Europe, and North America, and has enormous destructive potential to forests. The larvae of A. glabripennis overwinter in a dormant state with strong cold tolerance, and whether the larvae survive the winter determines the population density

The capability of synthetic pesticides to manage weeds, insect pests and pathogens in crops has diminished due to evolved resistance. Sustainable management thus becomes more challenging. Novel solutions are needed and, given the ubiquity of biologically active secondary metabolites in nature, such compounds require further exploration as leads for novel crop protection chemistry. Despite improving

The Old‐World bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), was recently documented attacking cotton and soybean plants in Brazil; however, restricted basic knowledge on host plant interactions and landscape use in Brazil have limited the effectiveness of control measures. In this study, we (a) evaluated the suitability of different crops commonly cultivated in Brazil as hosts for H. armigera and H. zea

Novel neuroactive insecticides are discovered/registered differently, have a lower value in use, and exert their physiological actions in manners distinct from neuroactive pharmaceuticals, but there are clear similarities in their biochemical modes of action. Insecticides are generally discovered using whole pest insect screens, and this eases difficulties in ‘translational science’ from lab to field

Chloropicrin (PIC), mixtures of 1,3‐dichloropropene and chloropicrin (DD:PIC), dazomet, and metam sodium (MS) are applied as chemical alternatives to methyl bromide (MB) in Spanish strawberry nurseries since MB was banned as a soil fumigant in 2005. These chemical alternatives were applied to soil in two Spanish strawberry nurseries between 2003 and 2017 to test their efficacy against the main crown

Bacillus velezensis and other Bacillus species are known for the production of bioactive secondary metabolites that are active against plant pathogenic fungi. In view of this, a study was undertaken to investigate antifungal potential of B. velezensis AR1 culture supernatant.

The evolution of weed resistance to herbicides is an ever‐increasing problem that affects crop yield and food production. In Syngenta, we believe that this difficult and complex issue can be most efficiently addressed through a deep understanding of the evolutionary dynamics and mechanism of resistance. A profound knowledge of resistance is key to developing the next generation of resistance‐breaking

Natural products (NPs) have long been a source of insecticidal crop protection products. Like many macrolide NPs, the spinosyns originated from a soil inhibiting microorganism (Saccharopolyspora spinosa). More than 20 years after initial registration, the spinosyns remain a unique class of NP‐based insect control products that presently encompass two insecticidal active ingredients, spinosad, a naturally

Commercial vegetable production in the United States of America (USA) often relies on foliar insecticide sprays for managing key insect pests. However, foliar applications of insecticides have a number of drawbacks to the health of consumers, farmworkers, and the environment. Drip chemigation is the application of pesticides to the soil through trickle (drip) irrigation systems, and can overcome a

Whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a phloem‐feeding insect and causes extensive agricultural damage around the world. Although the parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa is widely used to control B. tabaci on greenhouse tomatoes, low efficiency and discontinuity are frequently recorded. It has been well‐documented that herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are important cues in the foraging behaviour of the natural

2,4‐dihydroxy‐7‐methoxy‐1,4‐benzoxazin‐3‐one (DIMBOA), the main benzoxazinoid found in corn, elicits variable larval responses from different pest moths. For the widespread and highly polyphagous Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), the fall‐armyworm (FAW), DIMBOA acts as a feeding stimulant and improves larval growth at low concentrations. The FAW present two host plant‐related strains

Integrating fungal biocontrol agents into crop protection programs dominated by synthetic pesticides is an important first step towards developing an IPM program, however their successful integration relies on an understanding of how their performance may be impacted by the remaining agrochemicals deployed for managing other pests and diseases. In this study we tested ten formulated pesticides used

Curcumin is a promising botanical acaricidal compound with activity against Tetranychus cinnabarinus. Calmodulin (CaM) is a key Ca2+ sensor that plays a vital role in calcium signalling. Overexpression of the CaM gene with inducible character occurs in curcumin‐treated mites, but its functional role remains to be further analyzed by RNAi and protein expression.

Symptoms of pine wilt disease (PWD) are caused when pathogenic pine wood nematodes (PWN) invade healthy host trees via the wounds created by the Monochamus alternatus adults. Exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) can trigger the terpene‐based induced defense in conifers, which is a core part of conifer defense system. Herein, we hypothesized that the terpene‐based plant defense induced by MeJA could negatively