Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) and Its Applications

Simple Summary: Insects represent the most speciose and abundant group of animals on this planet. Most species are beneficial, however, a small number of them are major plant pests or vectors of major pathogens in livestock and humans. Insecticides have been used for decades as the main weapon for the population control of insect pests. However, concerns about human health and the environment as well as the increased prevalence of insecticide resistance have called for more environment-friendly and sustainable insect pest control approaches such as the sterile insect technique (SIT). Although most insect species have a beneficial role in the ecosystems, some of them represent major plant pests and disease vectors for livestock and humans. During the last six-seven decades, the sterile insect technique (SIT) has been used as part of area-wide integrated pest management strategies to suppress, contain, locally eradicate or prevent the (re)invasion of insect pest populations and disease vectors worldwide. This Special Issue on Sterile insect technique (SIT) and its applications, which consists of 27 manuscripts (7 reviews and 20 original research articles), provides an update on the research and development efforts in this area. The manuscripts report on all the different components of the SIT package including mass-rearing, development of genetic sexing strains, irradiation, quality control as well as field trials.

Automated summary

Insects are the most speciose and abundant group of animals on Earth, with most species being beneficial but a small number acting as plant pests or disease vectors. The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been used as an environmentally friendly and sustainable method of pest control, with successful applications in suppressing, controlling, eradicating, or preventing insect pest populations and disease vectors globally.