Agronomy Webinar | Strategies for Effective Integrated Pest Management in Staple Crop Production
Agronomy Webinar | Strategies for Effective Integrated Pest Management in Staple Crop Production
Part of the Agronomy Webinar series
14 May 2026
IPM, Pest Monitoring, Biological Control, Chemical Control, Botanical Insecticides, Genetic-Based Pest Control Methods, Sustainable Agriculture
Welcome from the Chair
11th Agronomy Webinar
Novel Approaches to Sustainable Food Systems: From Fungi to Functional Pigments
It is my pleasure to welcome you to this webinar organized by Agronomy, dedicated to the “Sustainable Strategies for Effective Integrated Pest Management in Staple Crop Production”
The increasing demand for staple crops to feed a world population, expected to reach near 10 billion in 2050, requires sustainable pest control strategies not only to reach high crop yields, but also to preserve the environment and the whole beneficial entomofauna in the production agroecosystem. The overreliance on chemical insecticides has raised serious concerns over their negative side effects. Thus, integrated pest management (IPM) is the best way to protect yield through integrating different pest control tools, based on plant resistance (including Bt cultivars); adoption of economic thresholds (ETs); pest-monitoring procedures; use of selective insecticides, biological control, botanical insecticides; RNAi; and CRISPR-based control strategies, among other sustainable alternatives of managing arthropods population into agroecosystems. Therefore, innovative research on integrated pest management in different staple crops is urgently needed. Consequently, Agronomy is promoting this webinar to discuss the most recent innovations in arthropod control to sustainably manage their outbreaks in those agroecosystems (staple crops), bringing research from the laboratory to applied in the field to make food production more efficient and sustainable.
Time: 12:00 pm CDT | 1:00 pm EDT | 7:00 pm CEST
Event Chair
I am a Senior Scientist within the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Biological Control of the Entomology Group at Embrapa Soybean, Brazil, and a professor/advisor of the graduate program of the Federal University of Paraná and the Londrina State University with 164 scientific articles, 2 books and 17 book chapters published. My research spans plant protection, augmentative biological control with egg parasitoids, Economic Thresholds (ETs) and Economic Injury Levels, and integrated management of economically important insect pests in soybean and maize crops. Mitigation of insecticide use with studies developing ETs, in addition to release and evaluation of natural enemies for the control of insect pests, are featured strongly in my research. I have extensive experience in managing large-scale biological control trials, and on farmer trainings in IPM.
Invited Speakers
Sustainable Integrated Pest Management in Soybean and Maize: Advances and Challenges in the use of Egg Parasitoids in Brazil
Weidson Plauter Sutil is a biologist with a master’s degree in Agronomy from the Federal University of Acre (UFAC) and a Ph.D. in Entomology from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) in Brazil. During his doctoral studies, he completed a six-month research period at the University of Catania, Italy, under the supervision of Professor Antonio Biondi, focusing on pest management using essential oils. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at Embrapa Soybean and serves as a young member of the Entomological Society of Brazil. His research focuses on the biological control of insect pests in soybean and maize production systems, with particular emphasis on augmentative biological control using egg parasitoids, as well as the use of essential oils as a sustainable alternative strategy for pest management.
Advancing Sustainable Production Through Integrated Pest Management: Enablers and Constraints in Latin America
Dr. Yelitza Colmenarez is an Agricultural Engineer graduated from the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado (UCLA), Venezuela, and holds both a master’s and a Ph.D. in Plant Protection from São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil. She began her career at CABI in 2005 in Switzerland and was later transferred to the CABI center in Trinidad and Tobago, where she worked as a project coordinator in Integrated Pest Management across Latin America and the Caribbean. She served as President of IOBC-NTRS from 2014 to 2018. Currently, she is the Director of the CABI Centre for Latin America, based in Brazil, and serves as Regional Coordinator of the Plantwise program for Latin America and the Caribbean. Dr. Colmenarez is a specialist in sustainable production, biological control, and integrated pest and disease management, applying participatory approaches in agricultural extension and research. She has experience working with a wide range of crops, including cotton, maize, potato, vegetables, and tropical fruits. At CABI, she leads and coordinates international cooperation projects in the agricultural and environmental sectors across multiple countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on promoting sustainable production systems and strengthening food security.
Registration
This is a FREE webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Certificates of attendance will be delivered to those who attend the live webinar.
Can’t attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Program
|
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CDT |
Time in CEST |
|
Klaudia Kasprowicz (Agronomy Deputy Managing Editor) Journal Introduction & Overview of Submission Process |
12:00 – 12:05 |
19:00 - 19:05 |
|
Dr. Adeney De Freitas Bueno (Chair) Chair Introduction & Relevant Special Issue Introduction |
12:05 - 12:15 |
19:05 - 19:15 |
|
Dr. Weidson Plauter Sutil (Speaker 1) Sustainable Integrated Pest Management in Soybean and Maize: Advances and Challenges in the use of Egg Parasitoids in Brazil |
12:15 - 12:40 |
19:15 - 19:40 |
|
Dr. Yelitza Coromoto Colmenarez (Speaker 2) Advancing Sustainable Production Through Integrated Pest Management: Enablers and Constraints in Latin America |
12:40 - 13:05 |
19:40 - 20:05 |
|
Q&A |
13:05 - 13:15 |
20:05 - 20:15 |
|
Dr. Adeney De Freitas Bueno (Chair) Closing of Webinar |
13:15 - 13:20 |
20:15 - 20:20 |
Relevant Special Issue
Strategies for Effective Integrated Pest Management in Staple Crop Production
Edited by Dr. Adeney De Freitas Bueno (Guest Editor) and Dr. Weidson Plauter Sutil (Guest Editor Assistant)
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026
Sponsors and Partners
Organizers
