Biological control mitigates spread of vector-borne plant pathogens

Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment

Name of Author

• Kris A.G. Wyckhuys, Chrysalis Consulting
• Yi Zou, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
• David W. Crowder, Washington State University Pullman
• Evie Adriani, Gorontalo University
• Annabelle B. Albaytar, University of the Philippines Los Banos
• Marie Joy B. Beltran, University of the Philippines Los Banos
• Ibtissem Ben Fekih, Université de Liège
• Carolina Camargo-Gil, Centro de Investigación de la Caña de Azúcar de Colombia (Cenicaña)
• Filomena C. Filomena, University of the Philippines Los Banos
• Lizette Cicero, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias
• Yelitza C. Colmenarez, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho"
• Claudia M. Cuellar-Palacios, Universidad del Valle, Cali
• Thomas Dubois, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
• Sanford D. Eigenbrode, University of Idaho
• Frederic Francis, Université de Liège
• Alberto Fereres, CSIC - Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA)
• Khalid Haddi, Universidade Federal de Lavras
• Fathiya M. Khamis, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
• Cécile Le Lann, Écosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution
• Anne Le Ralec, Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes
• Lorena Lopez, NC State University
• Baoqian Lyu, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences
• James Montoya-Lerma, Universidad del Valle, Cali
• Karen Muñoz-Cardenas, Universiteit van Amsterdam
• Ihsan Nurkomar, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
• Paola A. Palmeros-Suarez, Universidad de Guadalajara
• Jermaine D. Perier, The University of Georgia Tifton Campus
• Ricardo Ramírez-Romero, Universidad de Guadalajara

Publication Date

8-15-2025

Abstract

Diseases caused by vector-borne plant pathogens cause adverse impacts on yield resilience, food security, and farmer livelihoods, which are bound to aggravate under global change. Biological control is routinely discounted as a mitigation strategy for plant diseases, partially due to scarce and inconclusive empirical support. Here, using curated field survey data for 58 persistently or semi-persistently transmitted pathogens, we employ a multi-method approach to assess the role of resident (i.e., naturally occurring) biological control agents in these pathosystems. Our meta-analyses show how in planta pathogen incidence is strongly affected by vector abundance and infectivity. Meanwhile, biological control agent density negatively affects vector abundance and slows vector population build-up. Together, these relationships suggest that biological control lessens pathogen incidence by reducing vector abundance, though a paucity of data impedes direct, empirical demonstration of this effect. In particular, bipartite (mainly vector × pathogen) interactions have only been uncovered under field conditions for less than half of focal pathosystems. More so, just 5 % of studies simultaneously reported pathogen, vector, and biological control agent densities. Our study contests the long-standing dogma that arthropod-vectored pathogens cannot be mitigated through biological control, and accentuates how observational or manipulative field studies are imperative to grasp its full potential.

Keywords

Agroecology, Biological control agent-vector-virus interactions, Disease ecology, Interdisciplinarity, Vector-borne pathogens

Recommended Citation

Wyckhuys, K., Zou, Y., Crowder, D., Adriani, E., Albaytar, A., Beltran, M., Ben Fekih, I., Camargo-Gil, C., Filomena, F., Cicero, L., Colmenarez, Y., Cuellar-Palacios, C., Dubois, T., Eigenbrode, S., Francis, F., Fereres, A., Haddi, K., Khamis, F., Le Lann, C., Le Ralec, A., Lopez, L., Lyu, B., Montoya-Lerma, J., Muñoz-Cardenas, K., Nurkomar, I., Palmeros-Suarez, P., Perier, J., & Ramírez-Romero, R. (2025). Biological control mitigates spread of vector-borne plant pathogens. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 388 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109683