Research reveals diet alterations could boost biopesticide efficacy
aafarmer
2025.05.27
It is hoped that the findings could allow the development of biopesticides that are effective for longer.
Researchers discovered that cotton bollworm moths show a great deal of genetic variation in how well they survive exposure to biopesticide fungi.
The study showed that exposure to biopesticide fungi might lead to the evolution of resistance, just as with synthetic pesticides. However, alterations to a crop the moth ate had a greater impact on the evolution of resistance than switching the type of pesticide used – meaning that the variety of crop grown could impact how quickly pests adapt to biopesticides.
It is hoped that the findings could allow the development of biopesticides that are effective for longer.
Researchers discovered that cotton bollworm moths show a great deal of genetic variation in how well they survive exposure to biopesticide fungi.
The study showed that exposure to biopesticide fungi might lead to the evolution of resistance, just as with synthetic pesticides. However, alterations to a crop the moth ate had a greater impact on the evolution of resistance than switching the type of pesticide used – meaning that the variety of crop grown could impact how quickly pests adapt to biopesticides.
Read more here.