Diatomaceous Earth for Arthropod Pest Control: Back to the Future.

Nowadays, we are tackling various issues related to the overuse of synthetic insecticides. Growing concerns about biodiversity, animal and human welfare, and food security are pushing agriculture toward a more sustainable approach, and research is moving in this direction, looking for environmentally friendly alternatives to be adopted in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) protocols. In this regard, inert dusts, especially diatomaceous earths (DEs), hold a significant promise to prevent and control a wide range of arthropod pests. DEs are a type of naturally occurring soft siliceous sedimentary rock, consisting of the fossilized exoskeleton of unicellular algae, which are called diatoms. Mainly adopted for the control of stored product pests, DEs have found also their use against some household insects living in a dry environment, such as bed bugs, or insects of agricultural interest. In this article, we reported a comprehensive review of the use of DEs against different arthropod pest taxa, such as Acarina, Blattodea, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Ixodida, Lepidoptera, when applied either alone or in combination with other techniques. The mechanisms of action of DEs, their real-world applications, and challenges related to their adoption in IPM programs are critically reported.

Sex Pheromone Aerosol Devices for Mating Disruption: Challenges for a Brighter Future.

Pheromone-mediated mating disruption (MD) represents an important tool to manage insect pests in agriculture and forestry. MD relies on the release of synthetic sex pheromones from dispensers in crops, interfering with mate finding and reproduction of a pest through both competitive and non-competitive mechanisms. MD programs primarily rely upon "passive" dispensers, used at high densities per hectare (200-3000 units∙ha-1). In addition to the labor required for their application, another disadvantage of "passive" dispensers is the continuous release of pheromones, regardless of the time of day or the pest flight activity. Aerosol delivery systems can overcome the drawbacks of passive dispensers as they are applied at far lower density (2-5 units∙ha-1) and they can be programmed to release pheromones at selected time intervals when the target pest is active. However, the mode of action of aerosol dispensers is still not well understood and there are concerns of whether they are as effective as passive dispensers. This review focuses on the history of aerosol dispensers, mode of action, and effectiveness on various crops; deployment strategies; and the movement of pheromone once released. Limitations of aerosols and challenges for future research and commercial use are discussed.