ENDORSE

The availability of effective pest control strategies has steadily declined due to emerging legislation protecting human health and the environment, as well as the mismanagement and widespread overuse of conventional pesticides leading to the evolution of insecticide resistance in many pest species. As a result, there is an urgent need for new technologies that minimise damage to our natural environments while sustainably safeguarding our ability to protect crops. This led to a growing interest in biopesticides and while these products have some favourable properties over chemical pesticides they are unlikely to provide a lasting solution to resistance if the past mistakes of mismanagement and overuse are repeated. ENDORSE is a promising new approach to pest management that aims to enhance the sustainability of crop production using biopesticides in heterogeneous environments to facilitate long-term evolutionarily sustainable pest control.