Climate-pest nexus in agriculture: challenges and adaptive approaches

Climate change has emerged as a major driver of shifts in pest populations and their management in agriculture. Rising global temperatures, altered precipitation patterns and elevated atmospheric CO 2 levels have significantly influenced the life cycles, distribution and population dynamics of insect pests, weeds and pathogens. These changes have disrupted pest-host interactions, expanded geographical ranges and increased pest pressure in many crop-growing regions. Moreover, climate-induced abiotic stresses, particularly heat and drought stress, can impair plant defense mechanisms, increasing vulnerability to pest infestation and disease outbreaks. This review synthesizes recent experimental and modeling evidence on climate-pest interactions with emphasis on implications for yield protection and resistance management. It evaluates adaptive and climate-resilient pest management strategies including integrated pest management (IPM), use of pest-resistant crop varieties, biological control and emerging digital and predictive technologies. Despite growing evidence, the paper identifies significant knowledge gaps and proposes a multi-disciplinary research framework integrating climate science, crop simulation modeling, entomology and socio-economic analysis to support evidence-based, climate-smart pest management systems.