Due to the quick development of insecticide resistance, it is crucial to optimize management programs by understanding the sublethal effects of effective insecticides like chlorantraniliprole on Aedes aegypti L. populations. Using age-stage and two-sex life tables, we investigated the sublethal impacts of chlorantraniliprole on Ae. aegypti. Larval duration in the progeny of exposed parents was reduced by 0.33–0.42 days, whereas, the longevity of male and female adults was decreased by 1.43–3.05 days. Similarly, the egg-laying capacity of F₁ and F₂ progeny of the exposed parents was significantly reduced from 27.3% to 41.2%. The mean generation time (T) increased up to 11.8% in exposed populations, and the net reproduction rate (Ro) decreased by 51.50–55.60%. After 24 h of chlorantraniliprole treatment, there was a significant increase in cytochrome P450 activity. Contrarily, the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) initially declined but started increasing after 48 h of treatment. This research highlights the importance of chlorantraniliprole in mosquito management, as well as the importance of considering sublethal effects when developing strategies to handle them. Having a thorough understanding of the harmful effects of insecticides on mosquito populations can greatly enhance the effectiveness of insecticide-based interventions, while also minimizing the risk of pest resurgence.

The Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), is the most notorious insect pest of potato globally. Injudicious use of insecticides for management of this pest has resulted in resistance to all major groups of insecticides along with many human, animal health, and environmental concerns. Additionally, the input cost of insecticide development/discovery is markedly increasing because each year thousands of chemicals are produced and tested for their insecticidal properties, requiring billions of dollars. For the management of resistance in insect pests, synergists can play a pivotal role by reducing the application dose of most insecticides. These eco-friendly synergists can be classified into two types: plant-based synergists and RNAi-based synergists. The use of plant-based and RNAi-based synergists in resistance management of insect pests can give promising results with lesser environmental side effects. This review summarizes the resistance status of CPB and discusses the potential advantage of plant-based and RNAi-based synergists for CPB resistance management. It will motivate researchers to further investigate the techniques of using plant- and RNAi-based synergists in combination with insecticides.

Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) is the most devastating insect-pest in cotton crop. It is vector of the cotton leaf curl virus (CLCV) and is responsible for huge losses to cotton industry in Pakistan and worldwide. It is mainly controlled by insecticides but the injudicious use of insecticides has resulted in insecticide resistance and population resurgence in addition to various harmful effects on the humans, non-target organisms and the environment. Transgenerational studies are very helpful to choose a best insecticidal option. In the current study, age-stage two-sex life table analysis was used to identify transgenerational effects of sublethal doses of afidopyropen. The adults of B. tabaci were treated with three concentrations of afidopyropen i.e., LC₁₀, LC₃₀ and LC₅₀. The results indicated significant changes in the progeny i.e. the fecundity decreased in treated population; and female and male longevity of their progeny were more in control as compared to treated populations. Similarly, population parameters like intrinsic rate of growth (r), net reproductive rate (R₀) and limiting rate of growth (λ) were significantly decreased in the treated adult progeny with values of 0.08–0.11, 4.85–7.46 and 1.09–1.12 per day, respectively. Based on the reduced biotic potential, afidopyropen can be suggested as an effective alternative option for the management of B. tabaci.

Musca domestica L. (Muscidae: Diptera) is a human and livestock pest especially in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Different insecticides have been used to control this pest that pose serious harmful effects on humans and the environment. The current study was planned to investigate the effects of two concentrations (LC₂₅ and LC₅₀) of pyriproxyfen on biological and population parameters of a field strain of M. domestica. The exposed parents (F₀) and their progeny (F₁) were studied to examine the transgenerational effects. The results indicated that preadult duration was higher in control (13.68 days) compared to LC₅₀ treated individuals (12.44 days). The male and female longevity was relatively lower in the LC₂₅ treated population i.e. 24.62 and 26.62 days, respectively. The adult pre-oviposition period (APOP) and total pre-oviposition period (TPOP) values were higher in the LC₂₅ treated individuals than those of control. Moreover, oviposition days and fecundity were reduced in the treated individuals as compared to the control treatment. A gradual decrease in the net reproductive rate (R₀) was observed (8.46–14.07 per day) while the value of R₀ was significantly higher in control. The results suggested that pyriproxyfen can be effectively utilized and incorporated in the management programs of M. domestica.

The increase of pesticide residues in food is extremely dangerous for humans. This research aimed to determine the concentrations of left-over pesticides residues on mangoes after they were exposed to pesticide residue mitigation modules (PRMM). Among these, four modules were used as candidate for integrated pest management approaches, while the fifth was traditional and served as a control. Residues of the lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, indoxacarb, imidacloprid, pyriproxyfen, acetamiprid, buprofezin and chlorpyrifos pesticides were assessed from mangoes taken from orchards. The QuEChERS technique was used to extract the residue samples and the GC-MS for their quantification. A significant increase in the percentage of contaminated samples was recorded during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 growing seasons. Samples belonging to PRMM-I showed 16.67 % (2019-2020) and 25.29 % (2020-2021) of contamination over the control. The samples collected during 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 from PRMM-II showed, respectively, 58.13 and 53.13 % of contamination. During 2020-2021, 66.67 and 67.00 % of the samples were contaminated for PRMM-III and PRMM-IV, respectively. Recoveries ranged from 88.37 to 99.02 %, with 1.07 to 3.97 % relative standard deviation, for all samples, in both seasons. PRMM-IV showed a greater contamination than the other modules and the control.

The potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller), is a notorious insect pest of potato incurring substantial yield losses in the field as well as in storage. Chemical control is difficult to exercise due to the latent feeding of the caterpillars and their ability to develop resistance against insecticides. One of the essential components of efficient insect-resistant management is using two or more different insecticidal genes in transgenic crops to effectively avoid and delay the resistance development in insect pests. Two constructs, namely DS-1 (cry3A + SN-19 genes) and DS-2 (OCII + SN-19 genes) in pCAMBIA1301 binary vector, were developed and were transformed in potato cultivars (Agria and Lady Olympia) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The molecular analysis confirmed gene integration and expression of the introduced genes in transgenic plants. The insecticidal effects of incorporated genes in transgenic plants were assessed against 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th instar potato tuber moth (PTM) larvae. The transgenic plants endured significantly high mortalities (100%) of larval stages of PTM within 72 h. Our results show that these transgenic potato plants have the potential to control populations of PTM and are also useful tools in managing PTM that would ultimately reduce the dependency on conventional chemical pesticides with potentially less or minimal hazards. These lines can also serve as an excellent source of germplasm for potato breeding program.