The assessment of human health risks resulting from the presence of metabolites in groundwater and food residues has become an important element in pesticide authorisation. In this context, the evaluation of mutagenicity is of particular interest and a paradigm shift from exposure‐triggered testing to in silico based screening has been recommended in the EFSA Guidance on the establishment of the residue

Rhopalosiphum padi is an important pest affecting cereal crops worldwide. Pyrethroid, including lambda‐cyhalothrin, has been widely used to control R. padi in the field. The present work investigated the resistance levels of R. padi field populations to lambda‐cyhalothrin and analysed the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of aphid resistance to the insecticide pyrethroid.

Single tool approaches often fail to provide effective long‐term suppression of pest populations, such that combining several tools into an integrated management strategy is critical. Yet studies that harness the power of population models to explore the relative efficacy of various management tools and their combinations remain rare. We constructed a Leslie matrix population model to evaluate the

The tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds), is a pest of cotton. Currently, growers rely on neonicotinoid seed treatments to control F. fusca. However, the occurrence of neonicotinoid‐resistant F. fusca populations has created new challenges for their management. Development of the thrips‐active Cry51Aa2.834_16 Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin expressed in MON 88702 cotton will be an important

Precise timing of pesticide applications, as recommended by decision support systems, can ensure crop protection, while maintaining efficient use of pesticides. Yet, farmers often deviate from recommended timing strategies. Here, we assess and explain farmers’ choices to follow or not follow recommendations for the timing of fungicide applications against potato late blight in Switzerland.

A new generation of succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) with high efficiency and broad‐spectrum antifungal activity has been frequently used in crop production. Sclerotinia stem rot is a major disease of various plants and crops caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Although benzovindiflupyr and isopyrazam reportedly have high activity against S. sclerotiorum, little is known about the bioactivity

Extraction of environmental fate parameters for pesticides by inverse modeling in laboratory experiments has evolved to become a common practice in higher tier exposure modeling. This study focuses on flooded paddy soil conditions using a simple container test system. Four active ingredients of paddy herbicide were tested. The results were parameterized and transferred to analyze the effect of formulation

Varroa destructor is considered a major cause of honeybee (Apis mellifera) colony losses worldwide. Although V. destructor mites exhibit preference behavior for certain honeybee lifecycle stages, the mechanism underlying host finding and preference remains largely unknown.

Induced apoptosis mechanism is an intriguing and effective manner that can reprogram cellular physiological and pathological processes to eradicate the undesired cells by their innate systems. Inspired by this opinion, numerous apoptosis inducers have been developed to treat animal diseases, especially in anticancer field. However, few studies reported to develop that kind of inductive agents for attacking

Autophagy plays an important role in eukaryotes. We investigated its role in the pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the causative agent of pine wilt disease (PWD), to find promising control strategies against PWD.

In the context of the resistance development and health risks of currently used fumigants, it is urgent to seek more effective and ecofriendly compounds for stored‐product pest control. The microbial volatile compound benzothiazole is known to have fungicidal and insecticidal activity; however, its detailed efficacy on storage pests is largely unknown.

“Deep learning” is causing rapid technological changes in many fields of science, and conjectures about its potential for transforming everyone's work and lives is a matter of great debate. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to apply it as a “black box” tool with little consideration of its potential limitations, especially when the data it is being applied to is less than perfect. In this Perspective

Onion maggot (Delia antiqua) is a pest of onions worldwide. Current means of managing this pest rely heavily on prophylatic insecticide treatments at planting. These options may not be viable in organic production systems or situations where insecticide‐resistant populations occur. Here we explore the efficacy of an attract and kill strategy for control of D. antiqua evaluating the ability of attractive

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is an important vector of virus diseases, impacting cassava production in East Africa. To date, breeding efforts in this region have focused on disease resistance. Here we use a spatially‐explicit simulation model to explore how breeding strategies for whitefly resistance will influence the population dynamics of whitefly in the context of regional variation in cassava crop

Although the enemy release hypothesis forms the theoretical basis for classical (=importation) biological control of invasive pests, its core assumptions are not always examined. This could contribute to unrealistic expectations for some biological control programs. In this paper we examine the assumptions that: (i) enemy release has contributed to the invasive nature of four exotic pentatomids in

The gradually elevated outbreak of plant bacterial diseases severely limits agricultural products and small amounts of pesticides can manage them. Our group has previously synthesized and screened the antimicrobial activity of diverse 1,3,4‐oxadiazole thioether/sulfone compounds bridged by a sulfur atom at the 2‐position of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole. However, few studies evaluated the effect of eliminating