Plant-Derived Repellent and Antifeedant Dual-Functional Barrier Technology and Potential for Agricultural Field Application

The prolonged application of chemical pesticides has resulted in significant challenges, including the evolution of pest resistance, widespread environmental contamination, and elevated food safety hazards. These issues highlight the essential importance of Integrated Pest Management within sustainable agricultural systems. Plant-derived repellent and antifeedant dual-functional barrier technology represents a promising alternative, utilizing specific plant secondary metabolites to target insect sensory receptors. This interaction disrupts pest host-seeking and feeding behaviors, thereby establishing a non-toxic behavioral barrier effect. To address inherent limitations such as rapid degradation under field conditions, advanced delivery systems have been engineered to improve compound stability and achieve controlled release. Field evaluations in tomato and citrus crops have demonstrated control efficacy comparable to conventional pesticides, while exhibiting minimal adverse effects on non-target organisms. Nevertheless, several constraints persist, notably high extraction costs, insufficient responsiveness of current delivery systems to environmental stimuli, and variability in pest sensitivity. Future progress necessitates a dual strategy: advancing technological innovations in biosynthetic production and smart responsive formulations integrated with the Agricultural Internet of Things alongside the establishment of supportive policy frameworks to accelerate pesticide reduction and promote sustainable agriculture initiatives.