Biological Control of Insect Pests in Agroecosystems: Current Challenges, Innovative Strategies, and Future Directions

Biological control (biocontrol), the use of living organisms to suppress pest populations, has become a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture and a core component of integrated pest management (IPM), offering a vital alternative to over-reliance on chemical pesticides. This review synthesizes recent advancements in the field, covering conceptual frameworks, key influencing factors (landscape structure, plant diversity, climate change), diverse biocontrol agents, and pest-specific case studies. It provides a systematic analysis of critical limitations such as inconsistent efficacy, scalability barriers, regulatory gaps, and pest resistance. To address these gaps, the review places particular emphasis on innovative and integrative strategies as pivotal pathways forward. These include trait-based agent selection, precision landscape design, integrated multi-agent systems, and, prominently, proactive regional management as demonstrated by pre-emptive biological control. The envisioned future directions focus on long-term cross-scale research, optimized production systems, and enhanced stakeholder collaboration aimed at bolstering the practicality and resilience of biocontrol in the face of global climate change. Among these, proactive biological control, which entails the pre-establishment identification and regulatory pre-approval of host-specific natural enemies, stands out as a conceptual model with transformative potential for shortening post-invasion response times and mitigating economic losses, embodying a paradigm shift from reactive to pre-emptive pest management.