{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]],"date-time":"2026-08-23T05:20:34Z","timestamp":1787462434840,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787270400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Shandong Provincial Key Research and Development Program","award":["2024CXGC010906"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024CXGC010906"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012166","name":"National Key R&D Program of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["2023YFD1400800"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFD1400800"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012166","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012166","name":"National Key R&D Program of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["2024YFD1400302"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024YFD1400302"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012166","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["U24A20412"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U24A20412"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["32202316"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32202316"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["U24A20412"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U24A20412"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["32202316"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32202316"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation Project","award":["ZR2026MS0380"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ZR2026MS0380"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Agricultural intensification has weakened natural pest regulation by reducing habitat resources for natural enemies and limiting plant-mediated resistance. Here, we conducted field experiments during 2024\u20132025 to evaluate the combined effects of Cnidium monnieri field-margin planting and maize seeds coated with the endophytic fungal strains YC (Beauveria bassiana) and PL (Purpureocillium lilacinum) on predator conservation, pest suppression, and biological control in maize agroecosystems. Compared with natural grass margins, C. monnieri significantly increased predator abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity, particularly of ladybirds, minute pirate bugs, and spiders (p &lt; 0.05). Gut-content analysis detected C. monnieri DNA in ladybirds collected 10\u201340 m from field margins, confirming predator resource use and spillover into maize fields. Importantly, endophytic fungus-coated seeds did not reduce predator abundance or diversity. Moreover, combining C. monnieri with endophytic fungi enhanced pest suppression and achieved control efficacy comparable to imidacloprid (p &gt; 0.05). These findings demonstrate that integrating functional plants with endophytic fungi simultaneously strengthens top-down biological control and endophyte-associated bottom-up pest suppression, providing an effective and environmentally sustainable strategy for pest management in maize.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects17080872","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T11:37:34Z","timestamp":1787312254000},"page":"872","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Enhancing Biological Control of Maize Seedling-Stage Pests Through Combined Application of Cnidium monnieri and Endophytes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Yingying","family":"Song","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan Engineering Research Center of Ecological Agricultural Products R&D and Industrialization, Shandong Key Laboratory for Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Pests, Key Laboratory of Biological Control of Pests, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lili","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan Engineering Research Center of Ecological Agricultural Products R&D and Industrialization, Shandong Key Laboratory for Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Pests, Key Laboratory of Biological Control of Pests, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kelin","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Plant Health and Medicine, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuguang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Yantai Agricultural Technology Promotion Center, Yantai 264000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ritao","family":"Qu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Yantai Agricultural Technology Promotion Center, Yantai 264000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongying","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan Engineering Research Center of Ecological Agricultural Products R&D and Industrialization, Shandong Key Laboratory for Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Pests, Key Laboratory of Biological Control of Pests, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6150-2333","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wenxiu","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan Engineering Research Center of Ecological Agricultural Products R&D and Industrialization, Shandong Key Laboratory for Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Pests, Key Laboratory of Biological Control of Pests, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suhong","family":"Lv","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan Engineering Research Center of Ecological Agricultural Products R&D and Industrialization, Shandong Key Laboratory for Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Pests, Key Laboratory of Biological Control of Pests, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ruohan","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan Engineering Research Center of Ecological Agricultural Products R&D and Industrialization, Shandong Key Laboratory for Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Pests, Key Laboratory of Biological Control of Pests, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xingyuan","family":"Men","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jinan Engineering Research Center of Ecological Agricultural Products R&D and Industrialization, Shandong Key Laboratory for Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Pests, Key Laboratory of Biological Control of Pests, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"264","DOI":"10.1038\/s43017-025-00652-3","article-title":"Crop pest responses to global changes in climate and land management","volume":"6","author":"Ma","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nat. 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