SCIENCE@home

Insect Pest Control from Chemical to Biotechnological Approach: Constrains and Challenges

Stefano Civolani,Massimo Bariselli,Riccardo Osti,G. Bernacchia

Published 2025 in Insects

ABSTRACT

Simple Summary The growing global population intensifies the need for effective insect pest control to safeguard food supplies. Traditional insecticides face challenges due to evolving insect resistance, regulatory hurdles, and shifting public perception, prompting a demand for innovative solutions. Over the past 30 years, new modes of action and chemical families have emerged. In Europe, unfortunately, stringent regulations under the Green Deal framework have slowed their adoption. This review examines the current state of conventional insecticide development, highlighting the difficulties agrochemical industries face in discovery and regulatory approval. It also explores alternative, non-chemical pest control strategies such as natural substances, entomopathogenic microorganisms, semiochemicals, and biological control methods. These environmentally friendly solutions offer advantages for integrated pest management, though their commercial success is limited by market and regulatory barriers. Additionally, the review describes cutting-edge biotechnological innovations, including transgenic crops, RNA interference (RNAi), symbiotic control, classical genetic control, and insect genome editing. While these technologies have the potential to transform pest management, their widespread implementation remains constrained by varying regulatory policies across countries. The future of insect pest control likely lies in a balanced integration of conventional, biological, and biotechnological strategies.

PUBLICATION RECORD

CITATION MAP

EXTRACTION MAP

CLAIMS

  • No claims are published for this paper.

CONCEPTS

  • No concepts are published for this paper.

REFERENCES

Showing 1-100 of 163 references · Page 1 of 2

12
Next

CITED BY

Showing 1-6 of 6 citing papers · Page 1 of 1