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Biocontrol for Sustainable Crop and Livestock Production, Volume II
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Biocontrol for Sustainable Crop and Livestock Production, Volume II

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2025 | Viewed by 4190

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Nickolas G. Kavallieratos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos Str., 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: stored-product protection; stored-product insect biology; chemical control; non-chemical control; trapping and sampling; taxonomy; aphid parasitoids; forest entomology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Željko Tomanović

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: parasitoid taxonomy; diversity; ecology; biological control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A wide variety of natural enemies are commonly used to biologically control pests in plant production around the world. Numerous biocontrol agents (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, nematodes, parasitoids, and predators) contribute to sustainable and permanent pest control, alone or in combination with chemical or physical treatments, in the framework of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The rapidly growing market availability of these agents and the development of new production technologies provide hope for the establishment of sustainable and environmentally friendly crop protection methods, which should lead to a reduction in the amounts of chemicals added to foods during their production and increase food safety. The use of biocontrol agents should also be used in sustainable production to maintain ecological balance in various ecosystems by protecting organism biodiversity. In this Special Issue, “Biocontrol for Sustainable Crop and Livestock Production”, we aim to promote high-quality research on the use of diverse beneficial organisms in crop/forest protection and food production. Therefore, we are pleased to invite researchers to contribute their original studies to this Special Issue, which will be internally evaluated by our editors prior to review.

Dr. Nickolas G. Kavallieratos
Prof. Dr. Željko Tomanović
Guest 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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biocontrol
  • sustainability
  • biological agents
  • pests
  • food safety

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1158 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Prey Specificity of Neoleucopis spp. against Marchalina hellenica
by Nikoleta Eleftheriadou, Nickolas G. Kavallieratos, Chrisovalantis Malesios, M. Lukas Seehausen, Marc Kenis, Greg Lefoe, Umar Lubanga and Dimitrios N. Avtzis
Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2756; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072756 - 27 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2157
Abstract
Marchalina hellenica Gennadius (Hemiptera: Marchalinidae) is a scale insect native to Greece and Turkey and presently invasive in Australia, where it damages pine plantations. The silver fly, Neoleucopis kartliana Tanasijtshuk (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), is the most abundant predator of M. hellenica in Greece and [...] Read more.
Marchalina hellenica Gennadius (Hemiptera: Marchalinidae) is a scale insect native to Greece and Turkey and presently invasive in Australia, where it damages pine plantations. The silver fly, Neoleucopis kartliana Tanasijtshuk (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), is the most abundant predator of M. hellenica in Greece and is presently being investigated as a potential biological control agent following the scale’s introduction in Australia. This study, conducted in Northern Greece, revealed the presence of a second lineage, closely related to N. kartliana, referred to as Neoleucopis n. sp. B. Field surveys and laboratory experiments were conducted on M. hellenica and a taxonomically related scale insect, Icerya purchasi Maskell (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae), to test the larval growth and survival of the flies on the two prey species and assess their specificity for M. hellenica. The results suggest that both Neoleucopis spp. exhibit a high preference for M. hellenica when compared to I. purchasi. Larval growth was higher on M. hellenica than on I. purchasi but the difference was significant for N. kartliana only. Survival was significantly higher for both predators when provided M. hellenica compared to I. purchasi. Field surveys showed that both predators are abundant on M. hellenica colonies, whereas none of the two Neoleucopis lineages was found to have preyed on I. purchasi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocontrol for Sustainable Crop and Livestock Production, Volume II)
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Review

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17 pages, 2205 KiB  
Review
Biological Control of Aphids in Spain’s Urban Green Spaces
by Belén Lumbierres, Roberto Meseguer, Alexandre Levi-Mourao and Xavier Pons
Sustainability 2024, 16(24), 11225; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162411225 - 21 Dec 2024
Viewed by 611
Abstract
Green spaces in urban areas, such as parks and gardens, provide recreational, social, and health benefits for more than half of the world’s inhabitants. Arthropods in urban vegetation may cause some disruption to humans but also provide vital ecological services such as biological [...] Read more.
Green spaces in urban areas, such as parks and gardens, provide recreational, social, and health benefits for more than half of the world’s inhabitants. Arthropods in urban vegetation may cause some disruption to humans but also provide vital ecological services such as biological control and pollination. However, little is known about the ecology of urban pests, their natural enemies, and how to manage them in an ecofriendly manner, especially in Southern Europe. In this review article, we consider the information available concerning the biological control of aphids in the urban green areas of Spain, mainly focusing on the different aphid species, their natural enemies (and how to enhance them), and the sampling methods used to study them. A wide range of aphid species is found in Spain, but only a few are responsible for the majority of damage (so-called k-aphids, most of which are holocyclic species), and these show two distinct injury profiles (short and long) that determine monitoring and control strategies. Urban aphids have numerous natural enemies, including more than 20 species of ladybeetles, as well as predatory hoverflies, midges, lacewings, bugs, and other groups. More than 40 species of aphid parasitoids and their tritrophic aphid plant associations have been reported. The availability and usefulness of commercially reared aphid natural enemies is discussed, and two methods to enhance natural enemies are described. We also review aphid sampling methods developed for urban green spaces. The studies provide basic information on the ecology of aphids to support conservation biological control as a reliable strategy in the urban green areas of Spain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocontrol for Sustainable Crop and Livestock Production, Volume II)
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22 pages, 372 KiB  
Review
Advancing Sustainable Agriculture: Potential of Life Story Strategies of Solitary and Gregarious Microgastrinae Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to Enhance Biological Control
by Vladimir Žikić, José L. Fernández-Triana, Aleksandra Trajković and Maja Lazarević
Sustainability 2024, 16(22), 10004; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162210004 - 16 Nov 2024
Viewed by 755
Abstract
The life history strategies of solitary and gregarious Microgastrinae parasitoids are both valued for their potential in biological control, but they have rarely been directly compared to fully understand their roles in integrated pest management (IPM) programs. This paper provides a detailed comparison [...] Read more.
The life history strategies of solitary and gregarious Microgastrinae parasitoids are both valued for their potential in biological control, but they have rarely been directly compared to fully understand their roles in integrated pest management (IPM) programs. This paper provides a detailed comparison of these two strategies, focusing on critical traits, such as host specialisation, mating behaviour, and the mechanisms used to overcome host immune defences. Instead of treating these strategies holistically, the study isolates and examines each trait while also identifying synergistic interactions and their underlying causes. Key IPM success factors, including parasitism efficiency, host acceptance, and susceptibility to natural enemies, are defined to assess the effectiveness of each strategy. The results show that while gregarious parasitoids tend to have broader host ranges and higher fecundity, solitary parasitoids offer greater host specificity and reduced vulnerability to predators. Despite both strategies receiving similar overall performance scores, this study identifies monophagy as a particularly significant factor, offering insight into why some IPM programs succeed more effectively than others under seemingly identical environmental conditions. This study highlights host specificity and ecological adaptability as essential for effective, sustainable pest management, supporting the integration of both parasitoid types to enhance IPM efficacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocontrol for Sustainable Crop and Livestock Production, Volume II)
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