Query: pest control

title: The potential for the use of gene drives for pest control in New Zealand: a perspective
abstract: Genetic technologies such as gene editing and gene drive systems have recently emerged as potential tools for pest control. Gene drives, in particular, have been described as potential solutions to the pest problems that beset New Zealand. Here we describe the current state of gene drive technologies and present a series of examples to examine the potential benefits and problems arising from gene drive approaches for pest control in New Zealand. We consider the risks and barriers, both biological and social, that would need to be addressed to deploy such systems against our key pests with particular reference to the unique characteristics of New Zealand's biota, environment and peoples. Gene drives are a potentially useful technology for the eradication of pests in New Zealand but a great deal of research and understanding, as well as public acceptance, is required before they can be implemented.

title: Odorant Receptors and Odorant Binding Proteins as Insect Pest Control Targets: A Comparative Analysis
abstract: Recently, two alternative targets in insect periphery nerve system have been explored for environmentally friendly approaches in insect pest management, namely odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and odorant receptors (ORs) Located in insect antennae, OBPs are thought to be involved in the transport of odorants to ORs for the specific signal transduction of behaviorally active odorants. There is rich information on OBP binding affinity and molecular docking to bioactive compounds as well as ample 3D crystal structures due to feasible production of recombinant proteins. Although these provide excellent opportunities for them to be considered as pest control targets and a tool to design pest control agents, the debates on their binding specificity represent an obstacle. On the other hand, ORs have recently been functionally characterized with increasing evidence for their specificity, sensitivity and functional roles in pest behaviors. However, a major barrier to use ORs for semiochemical discovery is the lack of 3D crystal structures. Thus, OBPs and ORs have not been analyzed comparatively together so far for their feasibility as pest control targets. Here, we summarize the state of OBPs and ORs research in terms of its application in insect pest management. We discuss the suitability of both proteins as pest control targets and their selection toward the discovery of new potent semiochemicals. We argue that both proteins represent promising targets for pest control and can be used to identify new super ligands likely present in nature and with reduced risk of resistance development than insect pesticides currently used in agriculture. We discuss that with the massive identification of OBPs through RNA seq and improved binding affinity measurements, these proteins could be reconsidered as suitable targets for semiochemical discovery.

title: Evidence that organic farming promotes pest control
abstract: Ecological intensification of agro ecosystems, based on the optimization of ecological functions such as biological pest control, to replace agrochemical inputs is a promising route to reduce the ecological footprint of agriculture while maintaining commodity production. However, the performance of organic farming, often considered as a prototype of ecological intensification, in terms of pest control remains largely unknown. Here, using two distinct meta analyses, we demonstrate that, compared to conventional cropping systems, (i) organic farming promotes overall biological pest control potential, (ii) organic farming has higher levels of overall pest infestations but (iii) that this effect strongly depends on the pest type. Our study shows that there are lower levels of pathogen infestation, similar levels of animal pest infestation and much higher levels of weed infestation in organic than in conventional systems. This study provides evidence that organic farming can enhance pest control and suggests that organic farming offers a way to reduce the use of synthetic pesticide for the management of animal pests and pathogens without increasing their levels of infestation.Organic farming produces crops without using synthetic agrochemicals, but its success with pests is unclear. This study finds that organic farming promotes overall pest control but that varies by pest type, with lower pathogen pests, similar animal pests and higher weed pests than conventional agriculture.

title: Environmentally sustainable pest control options for Drosophila suzukii
abstract: The spotted wing drosophila or cherry vinegar fly (Drosophila suzukii) is native to Asia but has invaded other continents since 2008 and has spread throughout Europe. The females have a serrated ovipositor allowing them to penetrate the skins of intact ripening fruits to deposit their eggs, and the developing larvae rapidly destroy the fruits close to harvest. Drosophila suzukii has a rapid life cycle and the larvae develop well beneath the fruit surface. This means that the use of pesticides is problematic and often not effective, first due to their restricted use close to harvest to protect consumers, and second because the larvae are deep enough inside the fruit to avoid contact. There are currently no effective and environmentally sustainable pest control methods for this species, resulting in extensive damage to fruit crops. Here, we review the current status of D. suzukii as a fruit crop pest and discuss the feasibility of current pesticide free control methods. We also consider the potential of new technologies as a basis for the urgently needed specific and long term control of this species.

title: Rethink RNAi in Insect Pest Control: Challenges and Perspectives
abstract: RNA interference (RNAi) usually referring to the small interfering (si)RNA pathway, is promising in the development of a new generation of insect pest control products. However, prior to its exploitation for insect pest control, it is important to consider potential limiting factors, such as immune response and fitness cost, RNAi efficiency and dsRNA degradation, and virus encoded suppressor of RNAi factors in the development of the RNAi based pest control strategy. Additional challenges such as lack of feasible dsRNA delivery methods in practice, low efficiency in pest control capacity and evolution of resistance to RNAi have largely constrained the application of RNAi in practice. This review highlights how insect ecology and integrated pest management principles, taking into account RNAi, could be exploited to promote sustainable insect pest control.

title: Fleets of robots for environmentally safe pest control in agriculture
abstract: Feeding the growing global population requires an annual increase in food production. This requirement suggests an increase in the use of pesticides, which represents an unsustainable chemical load for the environment. To reduce pesticide input and preserve the environment while maintaining the necessary level of food production, the efficiency of relevant processes must be drastically improved. Within this context, this research strived to design, develop, test and assess a new generation of automatic and robotic systems for effective weed and pest control aimed at diminishing the use of agricultural chemical inputs, increasing crop quality and improving the health and safety of production operators. To achieve this overall objective, a fleet of heterogeneous ground and aerial robots was developed and equipped with innovative sensors, enhanced end effectors and improved decision control algorithms to cover a large variety of agricultural situations. This article describes the scientific and technical objectives, challenges and outcomes achieved in three common crops.

title: Agricultural pest control with CRISPR based gene drive: time for public debate
abstract: Gene drive technology to control disease vectors or pests has great potential for addressing humanitarian and public health problems. Its application for pest control in agriculture, however, raises important environmental, social and ethical issues.

title: RNAi technology: a new platform for crop pest control
abstract: The insect pests are big threat in meeting the food demands for future generation. The present pest control strategies, including the existing transgenic approaches show certain limitations and are not completely successful in limiting the insect pests. However, the sequence specific gene silencing via RNA interference (RNAi) holds a great promise for effective management of agricultural pests. RNAi is naturally occurring conserved process responsible for gene regulation and defense against pathogens. The efficacy of RNAi varies among different insect orders and also depends upon various factors, including the target gene selection, method of dsRNAs delivery, expression of dsRNAs and presence of off target effects. RNAi mediated silencing of different insect genes involved in various physiological processes was found to be detrimental to insects growth, development and survival. In this article, we have reviewed the potential of RNAi based strategies for effective management of insect pests. We have also discussed the various parameters, which are to be considered for host induced RNAi mediated control of insect pests without producing any effect on non target organisms and environment.

title: Avian pest control in vineyards is driven by interactions between bird functional diversity and landscape heterogeneity
abstract: Insectivorous birds are increasingly recognized for the crucial pest control services they provide to agroecosystems. While both the foraging activity and functional diversity of birds are enhanced by multiscale habitat heterogeneity, little is known about how these relationships may influence avian top down control of insects. Specifically, interactive effects of bird community structure and habitat heterogeneity on pest control across spatial scales have rarely been explored. We sampled bird communities and measured avian predation on plasticine model prey, as a proxy for lepidopteran pest control, in 20 vineyards of south western France. Vineyards differed both in sward heterogeneity at the local scale and amount of surrounding semi natural habitats at the landscape scale. Functional diversity metrics and community weighted mean traits were computed for bird communities based on a species trait table including diet, foraging method, nesting site, migration strategy, laying date, home range size, clutch size and body mass. We used mixed models to test for the interacting effects of habitat heterogeneity and bird functional diversity on avian predation rates of plasticine prey. Contrary to expectations, bird functional diversity decreased with landscape scale heterogeneity, but was higher in vineyards managed with heterogeneous sward structures. In contrast, foliage gleaning insectivores were more abundant in landscapes supporting more semi natural habitats, suggesting an increase in their contribution to pest control along the landscape heterogeneity gradient. Accordingly, we found that avian predation on plasticine prey increased with bird functional evenness both in more heterogeneous vineyards at the local scale and in landscape mosaics supporting more semi natural habitats. Synthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates that habitat heterogeneity at both local and landscape scales influenced avian insectivory in vineyard agroecosystems by interacting with bird community structure. It provides important insights for ecological intensification in vineyards, pointing out that management options need to be adapted to both the functional composition of local bird communities and landscape context. We suggest that both on field and off field management can be used to enhance natural pest control services provided by birds in vineyards, especially by favouring sward heterogeneity and patches of semi natural habitats within large vineyard stands at the landscape scale.

title: Effects of landscape structure on avian mediated insect pest control services: a review
abstract: ContextDespite increasing evidence that landscape composition and configuration strongly influence the community structure of potential pest regulators, landscape structure has seldom been explicitly linked with the rate and magnitude of pest control services.Objectives and methodsWe conducted a systematic literature review evaluating 158 relevant studies to: (1) characterize our existing understanding of the empirical relationships between landscape structure and avian mediated insect pest control services in agricultural systems, (2) identify gaps in our current understanding, and (3) develop a conceptual model of landscape structural influences on avian mediated pest control.Results and discussionWe found on farm pest suppression by birds was often higher in landscapes with higher native habitat cover, higher compositional heterogeneity, and in agricultural patches in closer proximity to native habitats. We identified more than 200 bird species that provide pest control services across both temperate and tropical regions. While most avian predators are habitat generalist species, a substantial fraction of pest control services in tropical regions was mediated by habitat dependent species, suggesting a link between conservation management and maintenance of pest control services. We identified a three part research agenda for future investigations of the relationships between landscape structure and avian mediated pest control, focusing on an improved understanding of mechanisms related to: (1) predator prey interactions and landscape modulation of trophic relationships, (2) bird dispersal ability and landscape connectivity, and (3) cross habitat spillover of habitat dependent avian predators. These findings can be applied to efforts to manage and design landscapes capable of supporting both biodiversity and ecosystem services.