Difficulties in Potato Pest Control: The Case of Pyrethroids on Colorado Potato Beetle

Abstract

Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata, CPB) is considered one of the most persistent crop pests because it is highly adaptable and can rapidly develop insecticide resistance. Nowadays, this beetle is resistant to over 54 different insecticides. In the absence of competitive alternatives, the answer of farmers to the high degree of pest adaptability is to increase the number of pesticide treatments or apply chemicals with different modes of action. Such a strategy increases the risk of intoxication in non-target organisms and leads to environmental pollution, augmenting the carbon footprint. Furthermore, these strategies are also unsustainable and inefficient for pest management in the long-term. The time has thus come to reform existing agriculture practices, for which the implementation of an integrated pest management strategy would be a more feasible tool. Applying a sustainable pest management strategy is indispensable for a better understanding of the status and mechanisms of insecticide resistance. Effective pest management requires monitoring the resistance of pests and developing a well-programmed pesticide treatment to simultaneously reduce the insecticide selection pressure and environmental pollution. In this context, here we present a review on the difficulties of potato pest control using as a case study the resistance of CPB to pyrethroids.