Latest Developments in Insect Sex Pheromone Research and Its Application in Agricultural Pest Management

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Insect pheromones are specific natural compounds that meet modern pest control requirements, i.e., species-specificity, lack of toxicity to mammals, environmentally benign, and a component for the Integrated Pest Management of agricultural pests. Therefore, the practical application of insect pheromones, particularly sex pheromones, have had a tremendous success in controlling low density pest populations, and long-term reduction in pest populations with minimal impact on their natural enemies. Mass trapping and mating disruption strategies using sex pheromones have significantly reduced the use of conventional insecticides, thereby providing sustainable and ecofriendly pest management in agricultural crops. In this review, we summarize the latest developments in sex pheromone research, mechanisms of sex pheromone perception, and its practical application in agricultural pest management. ABSTRACT: Since the first identification of the silkworm moth sex pheromone in 1959, significant research has been reported on identifying and unravelling the sex pheromone mechanisms of hundreds of insect species. In the past two decades, the number of research studies on new insect pheromones, pheromone biosynthesis, mode of action, peripheral olfactory and neural mechanisms, and their practical applications in Integrated Pest Management has increased dramatically. An interdisciplinary approach that uses the advances and new techniques in analytical chemistry, chemical ecology, neurophysiology, genetics, and evolutionary and molecular biology has helped us to better understand the pheromone perception mechanisms and its practical application in agricultural pest management. In this review, we present the most recent developments in pheromone research and its application in the past two decades.