Pest Management Science最新文献

{"title":"Optimizing sex pheromone lures for male trapping specificity between Spodoptera frugiperda and Mythimna loreyi","authors":"Yu He, Jing‐Jing Ye, Si‐Ruo Liu, Mo‐Yang Chen, Teng‐Fei Bai, Jian‐Wen Li, Shu‐wei Yan, Jian‐Rong Huang, Jian‐Yu Deng, Ian W. Keesey, Jin Zhang, Qi Yan, Shuang‐Lin Dong","doi":"10.1002/ps.70197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70197","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND<jats:italic>Spodoptera frugiperda</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Mythimna loreyi</jats:italic> are sympatric pests of corn and other gramineous crops. In addition, the two species share three primary pheromone components <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>9‐14:Ac, <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>7‐12:Ac and <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>11‐16:Ac, resulting in capture of males from both species by commercially available lures, which poses a great challenge for species‐specific population monitoring.RESULTSTo increase the specificity of the pheromone blend used in lures, we conducted comparative investigations between the two species, with respect of female calling rhythms, components in female pheromone glands, male electrophysiological and sexual excitement responses to pheromone gland components. Based on differences between the two species obtained from these investigations, we further designed and tested a variety of blend formulations for the species‐specificity in the field trapping assays, with the reported ternary blend for <jats:italic>S. frugiperda</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>9‐14:Ac/<jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>7‐12:Ac/<jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>11‐16:Ac = 88/1.0/11) as a positive control. The results showed that the ratio of component <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>7‐12:Ac is the major determinant of the male trapping specificity of the blends in lures. Compared to the positive control, increasing the ratio of <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>7‐12:Ac to 10 in the ternary blend greatly improved the specificity and captures for <jats:italic>M. loreyi</jats:italic> males, while reducing its ratio to 0.4 significantly improved the specificity and retained the capture ability for <jats:italic>S. frugiperda</jats:italic> males.CONCLUSIONThe optimal blend was determined to be <jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>9‐14:Ac/<jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>7‐12:Ac/<jats:italic>Z</jats:italic>11‐16:Ac at a ratio of 88/0.4/11 for <jats:italic>S. frugiperda</jats:italic>, and 88/10/11 for <jats:italic>M. loreyi</jats:italic>. These findings offer highly species‐specific sex pheromone formulations for population monitoring and male trapping of the two sympatric pests. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144930760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A simplified synthetic community from the healthy watermelon rhizosphere effectively mitigates Fusarium wilt.","authors":"Hongfeng Yu, Zhigang Wang, Renmao Tian, Weihui Xu","doi":"10.1002/ps.70193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70193","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Watermelon production is threatened by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon) in continuous cropping systems. Plant-recruited protective microbes can be assembled into synthetic communities to combat infections caused by Fon. The objective of this project was to assemble a simplified synthetic community for use in controlling Fusarium wilt in watermelon.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The Shannon diversity of the bacterial community in the roots and rhizosphere of healthy watermelon plants was significantly higher than that of diseased plants. Under Fon challenge, healthy watermelon plants recruited certain beneficial bacteria taxa, such as Lysobacter, Microbacterium, Nocardioides and Sphingobium to the rhizosphere and roots. We identified the top ten bacterial genera enriched in the rhizosphere of healthy watermelon plants and utilized them to construct a disease-resistant synthetic community (SynCom I). After the joint selection of plants and pathogens, the synthetic community (SynCom I) containing ten bacteria was further simplified into a five-species community comprising Bacillus methylotrophicus J4, Agromyces mediolanus L1P43F5, Microbacterium maritypicum L2P04F12, Sphingobium mellinum L2P11G4 and Chryseobacterium lactis L1P41C5. The simplified synthetic community demonstrated a control efficacy of 99.6%, and the five-species members presented a cross-feeding interaction model. Removal of any one of B. methylotrophicus J4, Chryseobacterium lactis L1P41C5 and Sphingobium mellinum L2P11G4 led to an increase in the incidence rate compared with the synthetic community. In addition, B. methylotrophicus J4 and Chryseobacterium lactis L1P41C5 significantly promoted plant growth.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our findings indicate that specific bacterial taxa enriched in the rhizosphere of healthy plants are correlated with enhanced disease resistance. Consequently, the construction and simplification of synthetic communities observed in this study may represent a strategy utilized by plants to mitigate the impact of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144937286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knockout of the SfVipR1 gene confers high-level resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa toxin in Spodoptera frugiperda.","authors":"Zheng Zhang, Xinru Pang, Lisi Wang, Wee Tek Tay, Karl H J Gordon, Tom K Walsh, Yihua Yang, Yidong Wu","doi":"10.1002/ps.70190","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70190","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal proteins, including crystalline (Cry) proteins and vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vips), are extensively used in transgenic crops due to their efficacy, low environmental impact, and safety. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, has evolved practical resistance to Cry1Fa, yet no practical resistance to Vip3Aa has been documented. However, both laboratory selection and field screen studies indicate a high potential for this pest to evolve resistance to Vip3Aa, making it crucial to evaluate potential resistance genes. HaVipR1 has recently been identified as a key determinant of Vip3Aa resistance in the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera. This study investigated whether the HaVipR1-homologous gene in S. frugiperda (SfVipR1) is similarly involved in Vip3Aa resistance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We employed CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate a homozygous knockout strain of SfVipR1. In comparison with the parent susceptible YJ-19 strain, the knockout strain (Sfru-KO) exhibited high-level resistance to Vip3Aa (>1850-fold) but showed no cross resistance to Cry1Fa. Resistance to Vip3Aa in Sfru-KO is autosomal, recessive, and genetically linked with SfVipR1.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Disruption of SfVipR1 results in high-level resistance to Vip3Aa, highlighting SfVipR1 has a critical role in Vip3Aa toxicity in S. frugiperda, despite the exact mechanism remaining unclear. Early detection of SfVipR1 mutant alleles in the field is essential for developing adaptive resistance management strategies against S. frugiperda. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144937344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biogenic amines modulate cannibalistic behaviors in the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda","authors":"Zi‐Yuan Li, Chuan‐Zhi Zhou, Yong‐Yue Lu, Yi‐Xiang Qi","doi":"10.1002/ps.70189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70189","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUNDCannibalism, defined as the ingestion of an individual by another individual from the same species, is a phenomenon prevalent across various animal groups, particularly among the larvae of the fall armyworm, <jats:italic>Spodoptera frugiperda</jats:italic>. These larvae exhibit cannibalistic tendencies under specific environmental conditions.RESULTSThis study demonstrates that cannibalism is rarely observed during the first‐ and second‐instar stages in <jats:italic>S. frugiperda</jats:italic>. The highest proportion of cannibalism was recorded among fifth‐ and sixth‐instar larvae, with a clear increasing trend observed from the fourth‐ to fifth‐instar stages. Starvation and high‐density rearing conditions are some factors that significantly enhance the frequency of cannibalism. Among the biogenic amines tested, only octopamine and the expression of its rate‐limiting enzyme gene <jats:italic>TβH</jats:italic> were significantly elevated under starvation and crowded conditions. Furthermore, treatment with octopamine, a neuroactive compound, substantially increased the frequency of cannibalistic attacks in the fifth‐instar larvae. Conversely, supplementation with phentolamine, an octopamine receptor antagonist, effectively suppressed starvation‐induced cannibalism.CONCLUSIONThese findings indicate that octopamine is a critical mediator of cannibalistic behavior in <jats:italic>S. frugiperda</jats:italic>. This insight may offer a foundation for developing novel pest control strategies targeting behavioral modulation in <jats:italic>S. frugiperda</jats:italic>. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144928050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Leveraging genome and transcriptome sequencing to decipher fungicide resistance mechanisms in crop pathogenic fungi: current status and prospects","authors":"Alexander Dumbai Joe, Runze Liu, Xiao Luo, Xianhang Meng, Xiaojie Fang, Ziting Ding, Meng Liu, Zhitian Zheng","doi":"10.1002/ps.70168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70168","url":null,"abstract":"Fungicide resistance in crop‐pathogenic fungi presents a major threat to global agriculture, jeopardizing food security and sustainable crop production. This review thoroughly explores the use of genomic and transcriptomic sequencing technologies to uncover the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying fungicide resistance in various phytopathogens. Resistance develops through both target‐site mutations, such as changes in <jats:italic>CYP51</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>β‐tubulin</jats:italic> genes, and nontarget‐site mechanisms, including metabolic detoxification, efflux pump overexpression and stress response modulation. Advances in whole‐genome sequencing (WGS), genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) and RNA‐seq have led to the discovery of novel resistance alleles, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and critical regulatory networks. Combining multi‐Omics approaches improves our understanding of resistance mechanisms and aids the development of targeted diagnostics, breeding of resistant crop varieties and precise application of fungicides. Furthermore, machine learning and bioinformatics tools offer predictive insights into the development of resistance and potential countermeasures. This review highlights the importance of using genomic and transcriptomic data to design sustainable and integrated strategies for managing crop diseases and combating fungicide resistance in agriculture. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144928017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synthesis and effect on seed germination and growth of 5‐(thio) phenol‐3‐methylfuran‐2(5H)‐one analogues as strigolactone mimics","authors":"Linfeng Kai, Chao Qin, Hongfei He, Qing X. Li, Rimao Hua, Pei Lv","doi":"10.1002/ps.70174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70174","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUNDPhytohormones regulate plant growth, development, and stress responses. Strigolactones are a class of phytohormones that have attracted significant scientific interest because of their multifunctional roles in plant biology and ecological interactions.RESULTSIn this study, 34 strigolactone mimics were efficiently synthesized by substituting pre‐synthesized 5‐chloro‐3‐methylfuran‐2(5<jats:italic>H</jats:italic>)‐one with phenolics and benzenethiols. Most of the chemicals showed seed germination‐promoting activities on corn, sorghum, soybean, and sunflower seeds. At a concentration of 100 mg/L, 3 s and 4 h showed a promotion rate of 56% and 63% on corn bud growth and 50% and 62% on sorghum root growth, respectively. The promotion rates of 3 s and 4 h on corn, sorghum, soybean, and sunflower root growth ranged between 35–48% and 46–71%, respectively. The effect on germination of the target compound exhibited a dose‐dependent trend, increasing within the range of 0.01–10 mg/L and decreasing within the range of 10–100 mg/L. Optimal promotion rates for corn root and shoot growth at 3 s and 4 h were achieved at a concentration of 10 mg/L. 3 s and 4 h regulated the content of the abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin to promote plant germination. The binding energy of GR24 docking with strigolactone receptor proteins derived from <jats:italic>Arabidopsis</jats:italic> (AtD14) was −7.30 kcal/mol, while 3 s and 4 h were −7.96 and −8.05 kcal/mol, respectively.CONCLUSIONSThe structure–activity relationships of 34 novel strigolactone mimics and docking simulations provided structural optimization strategies for designing new strigolactone mimics as plant growth regulators. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144928018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Preparation of silica carriers with cocklebur‐like structure by flash nanoprecipitation for enhanced foliar affinity and responsive pesticide delivery","authors":"Wanjun Gu, Chunhua Niu, Lan Li, Ge Bai, Hailong Ding, Kai Chen, Zhong Wei","doi":"10.1002/ps.70165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70165","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUNDDesigning nanocarriers with specific biomimetic topological structures to enhance the frictional interaction of pesticides on the target plant leaves is an effective strategy to improve pesticide retention and utilization on plant foliage. However, complex and discontinuous nanocarrier preparation processes limit their large‐scale production.RESULTSHerein, we have successfully synthesized the uniform cocklebur‐like silica nanoparticles (CSNs) using the flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) technique. Then, a pH‐responsive pesticide delivery system (AZOX@CNP‐Cu) was devised to control the release of azoxystrobin (AZOX) based on CSNs as the porous carriers and polydopamine (PDA) chelated with copper ions (Cu<jats:sup>2+</jats:sup>) as the capping agent. Detailed investigations showed that AZOX@CNP‐Cu has a strong retention on cucumber leaves, mainly benefiting from the spike structure of CSNs, which can form a “cocklebur adhesion effect” with the micro/nanostructures of the plant target leaf surfaces. AZOX@CNP‐Cu demonstrated a pesticide loading efficiency of 28.06 wt% and pH‐responsive behavior, showing the fastest release under acidic conditions (pH 5.7). Moreover, antimicrobial experiments indicated that the AZOX@CNP‐Cu exhibits sustained efficacy against Botrytis cinerea while maintaining cucumber growth without notable harm.CONCLUSIONSThis study proposes a scalable and efficient approach for designing nanostructured pesticide delivery systems with modulated topology, enabling large‐scale fabrication of functional nanoparticles and improved pesticide retention. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":"141 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144924222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biological activity study of formononetin‐containing isopropanolamine derivatives: dual effects of membrane penetration and intracellular action","authors":"Hong Fu, Yuhong Wang, Hongqian Zou, Haotao Pu, Fang Tian, Wei Xue","doi":"10.1002/ps.70181","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70181","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUNDGlobal crop yields suffer severe losses due to pathogenic infections, and the drug resistance of traditional fungicides has become a prominent issue. Developing new fungicides with high efficiency, environmental friendliness, and low toxicity has become an important task in agricultural plant protection, which also promotes natural product‐derived green pesticides to become a research hotspot.RESULTS30 formononetin derivatives incorporating isopropanolamine moieties were rationally designed and synthesized as potential plant disease control agents. <jats:italic>In vitro</jats:italic> bioassays against eight phytopathogenic fungi and three bacteria identified several candidates with potent antimicrobial activities. Notably, A28 exhibited the highest efficacy against <jats:italic>Phytophthora capsica</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>Pc</jats:italic>) with an EC<jats:sub>50</jats:sub> of 4.2 μg/mL, outperforming the commercial fungicide azoxystrobin (Az, 88.2 μg/mL). Meanwhile, A17 demonstrated optimal activity against <jats:italic>Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>Xoo</jats:italic>) with an EC<jats:sub>50</jats:sub> of 1.8 μg/mL, surpassing thiodiazole‐copper (TC, 87.1 μg/mL). <jats:italic>In vivo</jats:italic> experiments confirmed their therapeutic potential. At 200 μg/mL, A28 showed a curative activity of 72.3% against eggplant phytophthora rot, superior to Az (63.1%), while A17 exhibited a curative activity of 59.5% against rice bacterial leaf blight, outperforming TC (36.9%). The possible action mechanisms were preliminarily elucidated by experiments including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescence microscopy (FM), virulence factor assays, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.CONCLUSIONFormononetin derivatives containing iso‐propanolamine show great potential as novel agents for plant disease control, combining high efficacy and multi‐mechanistic action against both fungal and bacterial pathogens. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144928049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent advances in the pesticide activities of chalcone derivatives","authors":"Pengxiang Guo, Hongliang Xu, Wanjie Zhang, Yuhao Shi, Wensheng Xiang, Fengshan Yang","doi":"10.1002/ps.70179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70179","url":null,"abstract":"Obtaining pesticide‐active structures from natural resources and using them as lead compounds for the invention of new pesticides has become a popular research trend in the field of pesticide science in recent years. Chalcone is a simple scaffold for a number of natural compounds and is extensively found in plants. Due to the presence of active α, β‐unsaturated carbonyl groups, chalcone and its derivatives display a wide array of biological activities. Chemically, chalcone can be modified and synthesized easily to produce a variety of compounds with different structures. It is these properties that render chalcone analogs an effective tool for modifying the biological activity of pesticide molecules. This paper synthesizes the relevant research reports and patents of chalcone compounds with pesticide activity in the past 20 years. By summarizing the past research as well as combining the current development trend, we focus on five future directions of chalcone development, aiming to provide an effective reference value for the research of chalcone structure in pesticides. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":"56 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144924223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative aggressiveness and fungicide sensitivity of Phytopythium vexans and P. litorale associated with kiwifruit vine decline in Türkiye","authors":"Zühtü Polat, Mehmet Akif Gültekin, Göksel Özer, Muharrem Türkkan, Sibel Derviş","doi":"10.1002/ps.70173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70173","url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUNDKiwifruit vine decline syndrome (KVDS) is an economically critical disease threatening production in Türkiye. The oomycetes <jats:italic>Phytopythium vexans</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>P. litorale</jats:italic> are increasingly implicated, but their comparative roles and effective management remain poorly understood, creating an urgent need for sustainable control strategies. This study aimed to (i) compare the virulence of these two species and (ii) evaluate the <jats:italic>in vitro versus in vivo</jats:italic> efficacy of key fungicides to identify reliable control strategies.RESULTSPathogenicity assays revealed that <jats:italic>P. litorale</jats:italic> was significantly more aggressive, causing severe disease (Disease Severity Index, DSI &gt; 70%), whereas <jats:italic>P. vexans</jats:italic> induced only moderate symptoms (DSI &lt; 42%). A critical disconnect was observed between laboratory and greenhouse fungicide performance. For instance, oxathiapiprolin, which was highly potent <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> (EC<jats:sub>50</jats:sub> = 0.001169–0.006158 μg mL<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>), provided only moderate disease control <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic>. Conversely, pyraclostrobin‐based fungicides delivered superior protection against the highly aggressive <jats:italic>P. litorale</jats:italic>, reducing the DSI to a range of 20.83–21.88% and significantly enhancing root biomass.CONCLUSIONThis study establishes <jats:italic>P. litorale</jats:italic> as a highly aggressive pathogen in KVDS etiology and demonstrates that <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic> data alone are misleading for predicting fungicide field performance. Pyraclostrobin‐based fungicides are identified as the most effective candidates for managing KVDS caused by <jats:italic>P. litorale</jats:italic>. These findings underscore the necessity of integrating <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic> validation in screening protocols and adopting species‐specific management approaches, providing a critical roadmap for developing sustainable solutions against this devastating disease. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":"106 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144924221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}