Herbicides and bio-inputs: Compatibility and challenges for sustainable agriculture.

With population growth and the contamination of ecosystems by pesticides and chemical fertilisers, agriculture faces the challenge of increasing productivity in a sustainable manner. In response to this demand, the global ecological transition has promoted the use of bio-inputs, such as fungi and bacteria, which are essential for agricultural sustainability. However, the extensive use of herbicides in modern agriculture may compromise the effectiveness of these bio-inputs by interfering with their biochemical pathways.

Sex dimorphism in pupae and adults of the specialist Ipomoea batatas defoliator Bedellia somnulentella (Lepidoptera: Bedelliidae).

Bedellia somnulentella Zeller, 1847 (Lepidoptera: Bedelliidae), a global pest of the sweet potato Ipomoea batatas, was recorded in Brazil, but morphological information on the sexual dimorphism of this insect is scarce. The objective was to evaluate morphological characters of sexual dimorphism of B. somnulentella pupae and adults.

Herbicides may threaten advances in biological control of diseases and pests.

Advances in agriculture include integrated methods of controlling pests, diseases, and weeds with biocontrollers, which are constantly increasing, along with herbicides. The objective is to present a systematic review of the main reports of herbicide effects on non-target organisms used in applied biological control and those naturally occurring in the ecosystems controlling pests. The categories were divided into predatory and parasitoid arthropods.