Pest Management Strategies in Agricultural Ecosystems

Agricultural ecosystems are confronted by a diversity of insect and arthropod pests that threaten food security, farmer livelihoods and environmental health. Sustainable pest management combines chemical, biological, cultural and physical approaches in an integrated framework that aims to suppress pest populations below economic injury levels while minimising non-target impacts. Conventional chemical insecticides remain widely used for rapid knock-down of outbreaks, but overreliance on broad-spectrum compounds has led to resistance, biodiversity loss and residues in food and water. Biological control harnesses predators, parasitoids and microbial agents to provide continuous regulation of pest species, often with high specificity and minimal ecological disturbance. Cultural tactics such as crop rotation, trap cropping and intercropping disrupt pest life cycles and improve resilience. Semiochemical tools, including pheromone-baited traps and kairomone lures, enable monitoring and targeted interventions. Landscape management and the manipulation of source–sink dynamics at field and regional scales further enhance natural enemy effectiveness and reduce pest colonisation. Host-plant resistance and the deployment of resistant cultivars add a genetic barrier to infestation, while precision application technologies and decision-support systems reduce unnecessary pesticide use. Together, these strategies form a multifaceted and adaptive approach to pest management that addresses the global imperative for productive, resilient and environmentally sound agriculture.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have focused on the development of semiochemical-based monitoring and control strategies that reduce chemical inputs and enhance target specificity. One investigation identified the aggregation pheromone of a major scarab beetle pest in fruit orchards and demonstrated that a synthetic blend centred on 4-methylanisole effectively attracted adults of both sexes under field conditions. Long-lasting dispensers maintained lure efficacy for over four weeks, providing a practical tool for capturing and killing adults and enabling more informed timing of control measures. This work illustrates the potential of pheromone-guided interventions to integrate with broader integrated pest management (IPM) schemes by supplying real-time data on pest abundance and enabling precise, environmentally friendly control.

Pest Management Strategies in Agricultural Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in pest management strategies in agricultural ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Integrated Pest Management (IPM): A decision-based approach combining multiple control tactics to maintain pest populations below harmful levels with minimal environmental impact.

Semiochemicals: Chemical signals such as pheromones and kairomones used to manipulate pest behaviour for monitoring or control.

Trap cropping: The deliberate planting of attractive host plants to divert pests away from the main crop, facilitating targeted control.

Source–sink dynamics: The spatial configuration of habitats that either support (source) or reduce (sink) pest population growth within a landscape.

Biorational pesticides: Targeted, low-toxicity chemical or biological products derived from natural compounds or microorganisms.

References

1. Identification and field verification of an aggregation pheromone from the white-spotted flower chafer, Protaetia brevitarsis Lewis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Scientific Reports (2021).
2. Arthropod Pest Management in Strawberry. Insects (2022).
3. Effects of Local and Landscape Factors on Population Dynamics of a Cotton Pest. PLOS ONE (2012).
4. Field evaluation of sunflower as a potential trap crop of Lygus pratensis in cotton fields. PLOS ONE (2020).