Emerging trends in insect sex pheromones and traps for sustainable management of key agricultural pests in Asia: beyond insecticides-a comprehensive review

Global crop productivity is reduced by 20-40% annually due to agricultural pests. Mass trapping with insect sex-pheromones have been the major option for the pest control because of non-negative impact on both natural enemy and environment. In addition to this, we can lure and record a wide variety of insect pests with low concentrations of the insect sex pheromone which is released by female insects. However, the lack of understanding regarding the mechanism of how insect sex pheromone lures and traps work in the field has negatively affected the application of these techniques in countries like China and Pakistan. This lack of understanding hinders growers' ability to accurately comprehend the effectiveness and proper utilization of insect sex pheromone lures in pest management. This review summarizes recent advancements in molecular understanding of insect sex pheromones (their relevant structures and compositions), mass trapping, mating disruption and peptide biosensors, various forms of insect sex pheromone traps with a focus on the integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and smart trap technologies used in Asia. According to this review, the insect sex pheromone technique is not only well understood but can also be effectively utilized for agricultural pest management.