The Islamic Republic of Iran has a rich agricultural background; agriculture accounts for 10% of the GDP and provides livelihood to about 30% of the population. Efforts to increase farm productivity resulted in importing pesticides with about 3000 tons annually between 2012 and 2014; therefore, there is urgent need for using alternatives such as application of biofertilizers and biopesticides i...

Pesticides based on microorganisms and their products have proven to be highly effective, species specific and eco-friendly in nature, leading to their adoption in pest management strategies around the world. The microbial biopesticide market constitutes about 90% of total biopesticides and there is ample scope for further development in agriculture and public health, although there are challen...

Funding information National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Grant/Award Number: 2015-3438323710; USDA-NIFA: IR-4 Minor Pest Crop Management Program, Grant/Award Number: 2015-34383-23710 Abstract Drosophila suzukii Matsumura is a significant pest of softskinned fruit. Larvae of D. suzukii develop within the fruit making it unmarketable as fresh berries and increasing the risk of rejection by...

Pesticide risk assessments are usually based on short-term acute toxicity tests, while longer-term population dynamic related traits, critical to the success of biological control and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, are often overlooked. This is increasingly important with respect to new biopesticides that frequently cause no short-term acute effects, but that can induce multiple phy...

As pesticide abuse becomes increasingly serious worldwide, it is necessary to pay attention the biopesticide adoption behavior of agricultural producers. It worth verifying whether cooperatives, as training organizations sharing same social network with farmers, can promote biopesticides through their technology diffusion function. Therefore, based on survey data 837 citrus producers in Sichuan...

The Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in the northern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has evolved resistance to several pyrethroid and carbamate insecticides. Biological control methods should be a major component of integrated pest management for L. decemlineata. Spinosad and abamectin are two biopesticides that have unique mechanis...