Bt Research 2025, Vol.16, No.5, 204-213 http://microbescipublisher.com/index.php/bt 204 Feature Review Open Access Combining Bt with Other Biocontrol Agents for Integrated Pest Management Xiaoqing Tang1 , Fangya Chen2 1 Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China 2 Tropical Animal Resources Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding author: xiaoqing.tang@hitar.org Bt Research, 2025, Vol.16, No.5 doi: 10.5376/bt.2025.16.0023 Received: 08 Aug., 2025 Accepted: 20 Sep., 2025 Published: 09 Oct., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Tang and Chen, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Tang X.Q., and Chen F.Y., 2025, Combining Bt with other biocontrol agents for integrated pest management, Bt Research, 16(5): 204-213 (doi: 10.5376/bt.2025.16.0023) Abstract Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is the most widely used microbial insecticide, and the crystal toxins it produces have a highly effective lethal effect on specific pests. However, single dependency Bt also faces some challenges. This study reviews the mechanism of action and application status of Bt toxin, and focuses on the synergistic effects and typical cases of using Bt with natural enemy insects, pathogenic microorganisms, nematodes and plant-induced resistance. The article comprehensively evaluates the effects, mechanism and impact on the ecological environment of various biodefense factors. Practice shows that the integration of Bt with other biodefense methods can expand the pest control spectrum, improve the prevention and control efficiency, and to a certain extent delay the occurrence of pest resistance. At the same time, the diversified integration strategy has little impact on non-target organisms, which helps maintain the balance and biodiversity of farmland ecosystems. This study summarizes the importance of Bt integrated application in the sustainable management of agricultural and forestry diseases and pests, puts forward the current technical bottlenecks, and looks forward to future research priorities and application prospects. By deepening the study of the interaction relationship between Bt and other biological control agents, it can provide a scientific basis for building an efficient, stable and environmentally friendly comprehensive pest control system. Keywords Bacillus thuringiensis; Biological control; Natural enemies; Pathogenic microorganisms; Comprehensive pest management 1 Introduction The long-term large-scale use of chemical pesticides not only control pests, but also brings problems such as environmental pollution, food safety and pest resistance (Rajadurai et al., 2023). Due to its ecological security and sustainability, biological control is increasingly becoming a key component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is currently the most widely used microbial insecticide and has been successfully used to control hundreds of agricultural and forest pests. The large-scale application of Bt preparations and Bt-gene-resistant crops has greatly reduced the amount of chemical insecticides, and effectively reduced the harm to natural enemy insects while protecting crop yields (Pathak et al., 2015). With the widespread use of Bt, some pest populations have developed resistance to Bt toxins, reducing the prevention and control effect. In addition, Bt has limited effects on certain non-target pests, and a single dependence on Bt may not achieve long-term stable control of complex field pest communities (Bangaru, 2025). Therefore, it is necessary to explore the combination of Bt with other biological control strategies to give full play to their respective advantages and form a comprehensive prevention and control system that integrates synergistic efficiency. This study focuses on the theme of "Bt combined with other biological control agents", explains the insecticidal mechanism and application status of Bt, and reviews the research progress and practical cases of Bt combined with natural enemy insects, pathogenic fungi, bacterial insecticides, insect pathogenic nematodes and plant-induced resistance. Through the summary of the latest research results at home and abroad, we analyzed the synergistic mechanism and actual prevention and control results of different bio-defense combinations, and discussed the impact of this integration strategy on ecological environment and pest resistance management. On
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