Nanomaterial-Encapsulated dsRNA-Targeting Chitin Pathway-A Potential Efficient and Eco-Friendly Strategy against Cotton Aphid, Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

The r-strategy pests are very challenging to effectively control because of their rapid population growth and strong resurgence potential and are more prone to developing pesticide resistance. As a typical r-strategy pest, the cosmopolitan cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, seriously impacts the growth and production of cucurbits and cotton. The present study developed a SPc/double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)/botanical strategy to enhance the control efficacy of A. gossypii. The results demonstrated that the expression of two chitin pathway genes AgCHS2 and AgHK2 notably changed in A. gossypii after treated by three botanical pesticides, 1% azadirachtin, 1% matrine, and 5% eucalyptol. SPc nanocarrier could significantly enhance the environmental stability, cuticle penetration, and interference efficiency of dsRNA products. The SPc/dsRNA/botanical complex could obviously increase the mortality of A. gossypii in both laboratory and greenhouse conditions. This study provides an eco-friendly control technique for enhanced mortality of A. gossypii and lower application of chemical pesticides. Given the conservative feature of chitin pathway genes, this strategy would also shed light on the promotion of management strategies against other r-strategy pests using dsRNA/botanical complex nanopesticides.