Climate change exacerbates pest damage through reduced pesticide efficacy

Pesticide efficacy is strongly associated with environmental conditions. Conditional resistance defined as a reduction in pesticide sensitivity under changed environmental conditions has been widely detected under climatic changes such as elevated temperatures and CO₂ enrichment. Given the effects of environmental conditions on pesticide sensitivity, many of the putative resistance reports made by farmers may be due to pesticide application followed by non-optimal environmental conditions rather than the evolution of resistance. This type of conditional resistance may be the result of phenotypic plasticity or epigenetic changes in response to environmental changes. Elevated temperatures and CO₂ enrichment can directly lead to reduced pesticide efficacy by altering pesticide metabolism and translocation, or indirectly increasing pesticide detoxification in host-plants thus reducing pesticide availability for the target pest. Stress-related signal transduction pathways, as well as physiological changes, can both be associated with accelerated pesticide detoxification under climatic changes. The possibility for parallel mechanisms controlling these responses in different pest species should be considered. It is proposed that the same mechanisms leading to non-target site resistance in pests may also play a role in conditional resistance, suggesting we can predict the pesticides to which pests are likely to be less responsive under changing climatic conditions. Using adjuvants to improve pesticide translocation or reduce pesticide metabolism, alongside with new technologies such as using nanoparticles may result in higher pesticide functionality under the projected climate change. Exploring the physiological, transcriptional and biochemical basis underlying conditional resistance is crucial in maintaining future pest management under changing environmental conditions. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.