Chemical ecology in conservation biocontrol: new perspectives for plant protection

Can we improve plant protection by leveraging natural cues and evolved interactions? Though pesticides were once the frontier for managing insect pests, their undesirable environmental effects force agricultural practitioners to seek sustainable alternatives that provide sufficient yields.Conservation biological control relies on pest control services provided by local populations of arthropod natural enemies (predators/parasitoids). To recruit and retain natural enemies to desired habitats, research has explored manipulative use of chemical information from plants and insects (chemical ecology).We propose conserving plant chemistry to benefit natural enemies, harnessing repellent insect-based signals, and developing genetically engineered plants that produce natural enemy attractants and/or pest repellent chemistry as future directions for conservation biological control.