Integrated Pest Management Strategies for Crops: From Lab Discoveries to On-Farm Implementation

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chen Luo Guest Editor

Northwest A&F University, Yangling, ChinaInterests: insect ecology; pest-endosymbiont-nature enemies’ system; integrated pest management

Dr. Zuqing Hu Guest Editor

Northwest A&F University, Yangling, ChinaInterests: insect ecology; pest-plant virus interaction; integrated pest management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural yields are increasingly constrained by abiotic and biotic stressors, among which insect pests remain paramount. Harnessing natural enemies—arthropod biocontrol agents or entomopathogenic microbes—constitute a cornerstone of integrated pest management (IPM) for curbing yield losses. Yet, most advances emerge from simplified laboratory arenas, and their on-farm translation remains disappointingly scarce. Therefore, it is the time to consider our interests in on-farm implementation.

This Special Issue welcomes research articles and reviews that discuss field and semi-field studies that interrogate how biocontrol interventions or multitrophic interactions modulate pest pressure and, ultimately, crop yield. In addition, submissions addressing laboratory investigations of multi-trophic interactions involving three or more trophic levels, multi-generational studies, or research focused on the Multidimensional Management of Multiple Pests (3MP) are also encouraged. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Pest management and biological control
• Utilization of natural enemies
• Bottom-up effects
• Sustainable pest management in the semi-field and field conditions
• Other related applications (such as abiotic stressors)

Dr. Chen LuoDr. Zuqing HuGuest 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.

Keywords

• IPM
• age-stage, two-sex life table
• insect ecology
• multi-generational effect
• cascade effects