Insects, the most diverse group of animals, are known to benefit society for a sustainable future. By focusing on the use of natural enemies of pests, including parasitoids and predators, the need for biological pest control for the conservation of agricultural crops has been emphasized. Parasites are organisms that live in the body of another organism and feed on it without killing it, while predators hunt, kill and eat their prey. Parasitoids, on the other hand, live in or on another organism and feed on it, ultimately killing the host. Our study highlights the use of parasitoids to control pests in agriculture and describes the parasitoid lifestyle as an evolutionary transition between parasitism and predation. It also notes that parasitoid larvae typically require only one host to complete their development and can be used to control a wide range of pests. The aim of this study was to determine the origin of the parasitic life form of order Hymenpotera, the mechanisms revealed by the parasitic life form, the importance of life strategies, the types of parasitism and to evaluate the important insect groups belonging to the order Hymenoptera used in biological control.

Honeydew is a sugar-rich, sticky substance secreted by many plant-feeding insect species from the order of Hemiptera and Lepidoptera. Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae), on the other hand, feed on nitrogen-poor, carbohydrate-rich phloem sap and excrete excess carbohydrate as honeydew from their anus. The aphids, constituting the main material of the study were sampled from the Catalpa bungei C. A. Mey (Bignoniaceae) tree located in the central campus of Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University and then preparation procedures were carried out for species identification under laboratory conditions. According to the identification key organized according to the host plant, the samples were identified as Aphis gossypii Glover. The honeydew of A. gossypii Glover, known as the cotton aphid, was collected from the host plant and the effects of two different concentrations of the honeydew (10 and 20 g/L) on fungal growth were determined using both solid and liquid media. Different Trichoderma strains and Beauveria bassiana were used to examine fungal growth. Fungal growth in the prepared nutrient media was determined as the amount of biomass (gram). The honeydew content (phenolic substance, sugar and amino acid amounts) was determined and supported by FT-IR analyses. The growth of fungal species in the PDA medium, which was preferred as the control medium, and the medium containing honeydew was compared. It has been determined that fungal growth is better in the medium containing honeydew, and therefore honeydew increases fungal growth. With this study, it is predicted that aphid honeydew can support the growth of both fungal agents used in biological control and plant pathogens.

Sugar beet is one of the most economically important agricultural crops cultivated in many provinces of Turkey. Especially in recent years, there has been an increase in bacterial tuber rot due to factors related to climate change. In preliminary trials, soft rot disease by Pectobacterium caratovorum subsp. caratovorum (Pcc) and Pectobacterium betavasculorum (Pb) were detected predominantly in sugar beets in Central Anatolia. Today, some cultural measures and copper compounds are used against soft rot agents in sugar beet, but successful results cannot be obtained in preventing the disease. In this study, a total of 270 soil samples were taken from the rhizosphere of 10 different fields in 3 different periods in 3 different ecologically diverse districts (Çumra, Altınekin and Seydişehir) of Konya, one of the provinces with the highest amount of sugar beet production in Turkey. As a result of the isolations, a total of 3064 bacterial isolates were purified and 262 of them showed antibacterial activity against Pcc and Pb in vitro conditions. In addition, 15 antagonist bacteria with the highest inhibitory effect on the development of both pathogens were tested in greenhouse conditions, and according to the results obtained from here, 3 antagonists with the highest effect were tested in field conditions in the cultivation areas of 3 different districts named above. Biochemical, morphological and molecular diagnoses of antagonist bacteria with high efficacy were made. According to the results obtained, it has been concluded that rhizospheric bacteria with antagonistic effect have a success rate of 33-90% against Pcc and Pb pathogens, and that the biological products to be prepared in future studies can be used in ecological, climate friendly and within sustainable agricultural practices in sugar beet production areas.

The diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is a severe and most destructive pest of cruciferous vegetables in many parts of the world, including Nepal. The natural history and ecology of the diamondback moth are summarized here, along with appropriate management options. Caterpillar is the most devastating stage of DBM that matures and causes “windowing” damage, leaving only the epidermis. Biological control, cultural practices, effective chemical control, botanical pesticides, and host plant resistance are the most viable options. Insecticide abuse and resistance concerns are likely to persist, as numerous research-based outcomes have proven that none of these measures will suffice independently. However, these techniques can complement each other and result in a better long-term management system when combined. This review highlights the integrated eco-friendly management strategies for DBM and other cruciferous insect pests. Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which focuses on sustainable production, has shown promising results. Modern management techniques include genetic modification, use of parasitoids, modified cultural methods, the precautionary application of chemicals, resistant cultivars, fungal, bacterial (Bt. based biopesticides), and viral entomopathogens, etc., which are found to be more effective and eco-friendlier.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) has been remained an important agricultural crop in resolving global food issues through decades. The crop has experienced enormous growth in terms of production throughout the world in recent decades because of improvement in agricultural mechanization, fertilizers application and irrigation practices. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of this valuable crop is still vulnerable to losses due to prevalence of different viral, bacterial, fungal and nematodes infestations. Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary, is one of the most threatening pathogenic diseases which not only results in direct crop losses but also cause farmers to embrace huge monetary expenses for disease control and preventive measures. The disease is well known for notorious ‘Irish Famine’ which resulted in drop of Irish population by more than 20% as result of hunger and potato starvation. Globally, annual losses of crop and money spend on fungicides for late blight control exceeds one trillion US dollars. This paper reviews the significance of late blight of potato and controlling strategies adopted for minimizing yield losses incurred by this disease by the use of synthetic fungicides. Advantages and disadvantages of fungicides application are discussed.