how to overcome adolescent challenges essay brainly

Are you seeking one-on-one college counseling and/or essay support? Limited spots are now available. Click here to learn more.

How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example

April 17, 2023

At some point, most college-bound students are tasked with writing an overcoming challenges essay. The prompt crops up in various forms, as a supplemental short essay about overcoming a challenge, and in as the main essay itself.

Some students may feel inclined to write about a dramatic experience (say, spotting a grizzly bear outside the kitchen window), mistaking the drama of the moment for a significant challenge. Others may get to work, only to realize they don’t have much to say about the time they got a C in P.E. (that dreaded frisbee unit). Students who’ve overcome unspeakable difficulties, like a death in the family, may find that reducing the tragedy to 650 words feels insufficient, or worse—as if they’re attempting to profit from suffering. One or two students may stare down the blank computer screen as their entire existence shrinks to the size of a 12-point font. Should they write about the challenge of writing about the challenge of writing an overcoming challenges essay??

Don’t worry. Focusing first on how to tackle the essay will help any student decide what they should write about. In fact, how the essay is written will also prove more influential than the challenge itself in determining the strength of the essay.

Decoding the Prompt

Let’s take a look at the overcoming challenges essay question included among the seven 2023-24 Common App Essay Prompts :

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Notice how the prompt places an immediate emphasis on the “lessons we take,” rather than on the obstacles themselves, or any potential success. This is because the challenge itself often says less about the student than the way the student chose to tackle it, or the way they now reflect on it. In other words, obstacles often come at us randomly; it’s our personal response to the circumstances which reveals something of who we are.

While studying a prompt for clues, it’s helpful to think from the perspective of the admissions officer (the essay reader). What can they glean from an overcoming challenges essay?  A lot, actually. A thoughtfully written essay may tell them about the student’s personality, as well as things like problem-solving techniques, rigor, persistence, creativity, and courage. These insights can work to prove to the admissions officers that the student has what it takes to overcome challenges in college, too. These future challenges may range from the inevitable academic obstacles that occur with heavy courseloads, to social and moral challenges that arise as college students form their adult identities.

Picking Your Topic: A Brainstorming Activity

With the question of identity in mind, let’s now approach the overcoming challenges essay backwards, by brainstorming the final message the student wants it to contain.

For this three-part exercise, the student will first set a five-minute timer. With the clock ticking, they’ll jot down character traits, values, and any descriptive words or terms that say something about who they are. If stumped, change perspective. The student may imagine what their best friends, parents, coaches and siblings would say. (For example, tenacious , logical , scientific , peacemaker .) Even mild criticism can be helpful, as long as it’s not cruel. While a student’s brother may call him a “perfectionist,” perhaps this word will trigger other relevant words, like persistent and detail-oriented.

Next, the student will set the timer for another five minutes, pull out a second sheet of paper, and jot down any challenges, obstacles, setbacks, failures, and achievements that come to mind. Don’t hold back here or overanalyze. (For example: underdog at state swim meet , getting lost on the family hike , petitioning for a school compost system …)

Lastly, the student will place the two pages side by side, and draw lines between the items on the list wherever connections occur. One student may draw lines between persistent , curious , gamer , passionate about electronics , and saved the day during the power outage. Another set of lines might connect caring, observant, creative thinker , and helped sister leave abusive cult . Whatever ideas are sparked here, the goal is to identify which challenges will demonstrate something essential about the student to an admissions officer.

Topics to Avoid

The internet is rife with advice on what not to write when writing an overcoming challenges essay. Yet this advice can be confusing, or downright hypocritical. For instance, some may advise against writing about death. Yet a student who lost their father at an early age may be capable of writing a poignant essay about their search for an alternative father figure, and how they found one in their soccer coach.

I suggest avoiding guides on what not to write until after the student has done a thorough round of brainstorming. Otherwise, they risk censoring themselves too early, and may reject a promising idea. Once they’ve narrowed down their list to three ideas or less, they may want to check our guide on College Application Essay Topics to Avoid .

The reason why certain types of overcoming challenges essays miss the mark is that they emphasize the wrong aspect of the experience, which turns the topic into a cliché. While it’s generally a good idea to avoid trivial topics (again, that C in P.E.), any topic has the potential to be compelling, if it’s animated through personal opinions, insight, and description. Details bring an experience to life. Structure and reflection make an essay convincing. In other words, how the story is told will determine whether or not the topic is worth writing about.

So, rather than avoid specific topics, consider avoiding these scenarios: if you can’t show the essay to your best friend or grandmother, it’s probably not ready to show a college admissions officer. If you must write a clichéd topic, don’t choose a typical structure.

Techniques to Hone

Techniques that animate an overcoming challenges essay are the same ones used in storytelling. Think setting, visuals, sounds, dialogue, physical sensations, and feelings. “Showing” instead of “telling.” Crafting the essay with these inner and external details will bring the challenge to life, and catch the reader’s attention.

Another technique which works well when trying to avoid the trappings of cliché involve subverting the reader’s expectations. In storytelling terms, this is a plot twist. The student who got a C in P.E. may actually have a stellar essay on their hands, if they can break away from the “bad grade” trope (working harder to improve their grade). Perhaps this student’s story is actually about how, while sitting on the bleachers and not participating in the game, they found themselves watching the frisbee spin through the air, and realized they had a deep interest in the movement of astronomical bodies.

Some of the strongest overcoming challenges essays demonstrate what students have learned about themselves, rather than what they’ve learned about the obstacle they confronted. These essays may show how the student has come to see themselves differently, or how they’ve decided to change, thanks to the challenge they faced. These essays work because the reflection is natural and even profound, based on the student’s self-awareness.

Writing the Overcoming Challenges Essay, or Drafts, Drafts, Drafts

Everyone writes differently, some by outlining (never a bad idea), some by free-styling (good for capturing sensations and memories), some by lighting a candle—but don’t procrastinate too much. The only “must” is to revise. After a first draft, the student should begin to look for several things:

1) Clarity and Detail. Is the challenge recounted with precision? Is it personal?

2) Structure. Consider mapping the structure, to visualize it better. Does the structure suit the story? Can it be changed for clarity, or to keep the reader more engaged?

3) Cliché. Identify words, sentences, and ideas that are dull or repetitive. Mark them up, and in the next draft, find ways to rewrite, subvert, condense, and delete.

4) Lesson Learned. Has the student reflected adequately on the lesson they learned from overcoming a challenge? To add more reflection, students might ask themselves what they have felt and thought about the experience since. Would they do something differently, if faced with the same challenge? Has their understanding of the experience evolved over time?

By the final draft, the experience and the reflection should feel equally weighted. To get there, it may take five or six drafts.

Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample

The Happiness Hotline

First there were reports. Then we were told to stop socializing, go inside, wait. Covid struck. Everyone knows what ensued. It probably looked different from where we were all (separately) standing, even though we faced the same thing. Those first weeks, I stood at my bedroom window. It was dark by early evening in Oregon. The weirdest part—after the fact that we were collectively sharing the loneliest experience of our lives—was the silence.

… it was really quiet.

So quiet, I could hear my mom sigh downstairs. (So quiet, I couldn’t remember if I’d hummed aloud, or if I’d just heard myself in my head.) When I looked out the window, I could hear the stoplight at the end of our street. Green to yellow. Click.

Before going on, you should know three things. First, this is not a Covid essay. This is about melancholy, and the “sadness that has taken on lightness,” to quote Italo Calvino. Second, from my bedroom window, I can see down a row of oak trees, past the hospital, to my friend Carlo’s house. Third, Carlo is a jazz singer. Maybe that sounds pretentious, a freshman kid being a jazz singer, but that’s Carlo, and I wouldn’t be me without Carlo being Carlo. He’s someone who appreciates the unhinged rhythm of a Charlie Parker tune. He’s an extrovert who can bring introverts like me out of my shell. He convinced me to learn trombone, and together we riff in the after-school jazz club.

In the first month of the pandemic, we called each other nightly to talk rap albums, school stuff. At Carlo’s house, he could hear a white-crowned sparrow. He could also hear his parents talking numbers behind the bathroom door. The death toll was mounting. The cost of living was going up too. As the month wore on, I began to hear something else in our calls, in the way Carlo paused, or forgot what he was saying. Carlo was scared. He felt sad, isolated, and without his bright energy, I too, felt utterly alone.

Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample (Continued)

After some dark days, I realized that to help ourselves we needed to help others. It was pretty obvious the more I thought about it. People are social creatures, supposedly, even introverts. Maybe our neighbors needed to remember the noisiness of life.

We built a happiness hotline. That sounds fancy, though essentially, we provided three-way calls on my parents’ landline. The harder part involved making flyers and putting them up around town, in places people were still going. Grocery stores, the post office. We made a TikTok account, and then—the phone rang. Our first caller.

For months, if you called in, you could talk to us about your days in lockdown. People went really deep about the meaning of life, and we had to learn on the spot how to respond. I’d become a journalist and a therapist before becoming a sophomore. After chatting, the caller would request a song, and if we knew how to play it, we would. If not, we improvised.

Now we’re seniors in high school. Carlo visits the hospital with band members. As for myself, I’ve been working on a community music book, compiling our callers’ favorite tunes. I don’t want to forget how important it felt to make these connections. Our callers taught me that loneliness is a bit like a virus, a bit like a song. Even when it stops it can come back to haunt you, as a new variant or an old refrain. Still, sadness can take on lightness when voices call through the dark: sparrows, friends, strangers. I learned I’m good at listening into the silence. Listening isn’t only a passive stance, but an open line of receiving.

Analysis of the Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample

This student uses their musical passion to infuse the essay with vivid detail. There’s a focus on sound throughout, from the bird to the stoplight. Then there are the callers, and the clever way the student conceived of breaking through the silence. The narrator’s voice sharpens the piece further, elevating a clichéd Covid essay to a personal story of self-discovery.

In fact, the essay briefly breaks with structure to tell the reader that this is not a Covid essay. Although techniques like this should be used sparingly, it works here by grabbing the reader’s attention. It also allows the student to organize their thoughts on the page, before moving the plot along.

Outwardly, the student is overcoming the challenge of loneliness in a time of quarantine. Yet there seems to be an inner, unspoken challenge as well, that of coming to terms with the student’s introverted personality. The essay’s reflection occurs in the final paragraph, making the essay experience-heavy. However, clues woven throughout point to the reflection that will come. Details like the Italo Calvino quote hint at the later understanding of how to alleviate loneliness. While some readers might prefer more development, the various themes are threaded throughout, which makes for a satisfying ending.

A Last Word on the Short Essay About Overcoming Challenges

The short essay about overcoming a challenge requires the same steps as a longer one. To write it, follow the same brainstorming activity, then focus more on condensing and summarizing the experience. Students who’ve already written a longer overcoming challenges essay can approach the short essay about overcoming a challenge by streamlining. Instead of deleting all the extra bits, keep two interesting details that will flavor the essay with something memorable and unique.

• College Essay

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

• 2-Year Colleges
• ADHD/LD/Autism/Executive Functioning
• Application Strategies
• Best Colleges by Major
• Best Colleges by State
• Big Picture
• Career & Personality Assessment
• College Search/Knowledge
• College Success
• Costs & Financial Aid
• Data Visualizations
• Dental School Admissions
• Extracurricular Activities
• Graduate School Admissions
• High School Success
• High Schools
• Homeschool Resources
• Law School Admissions
• Medical School Admissions
• Navigating the Admissions Process
• Online Learning
• Outdoor Adventure
• Private High School Spotlight
• Research Programs
• Summer Program Spotlight
• Summer Programs
• Teacher Tools
• Test Prep Provider Spotlight

“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”

— Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Nationally Recognized College Expert

College Planning in Your Inbox

Join our information-packed monthly newsletter.

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

8 Overcoming Challenges College Essay Examples

The purpose of the Overcoming Challenges essay is for schools to see how you might handle the difficulties of college. They want to know how you grow, evolve, and learn when you face adversity. For this topic, there are many clichés , such as getting a bad grade or losing a sports game, so be sure to steer clear of those and focus on a topic that’s unique to you. (See our full guide on the Overcoming Challenges Essay for more tips).

These overcoming challenges essay examples were all written by real students. Read through them to get a sense of what makes a strong essay. At the end, we’ll present the revision process for the first essay and share some resources for improving your essay.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Essay 1: Becoming a Coach

“Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one.

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we competed with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

This essay begins with an in-the-moment narrative that really illustrates the chaos of looking for a coach last-minute. We feel the writer’s emotions, particularly their dejectedness, at not being able to compete.

Through this essay, we can see how gutsy and determined the student is in deciding to become a coach themselves. The writer shows us these characteristics through their actions, rather than explicitly telling us: To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side.

One area of improvement of this essay would be the “attack” wording. The author likely uses this word as a metaphor for martial arts, but it feels too strong to describe the adults’ doubt of the student’s abilities as a coach, and can even be confusing at first.

Still, we see the student’s resilience as they are able to move past the disbelieving looks to help their team. The essay is kept real and vulnerable, however, as the writer admits having doubts: Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

The essay comes full circle as the author recalls the frantic situations in seeking out a coach, but this is no longer a concern for them and their team. Overall, this essay is extremely effective in painting this student as mature, bold, and compassionate.

Essay 2: Starting a Fire

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the garb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire. 

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family. 

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt. 

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him. 

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses. 

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This essay is an excellent example because the writer turns an everyday challenge—starting a fire—into an exploration of her identity. The writer was once “a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes,” but has since traded her love of the outdoors for a love of music, writing, and reading. 

The story begins in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. One of the essay’s biggest strengths is its use of imagery. We can easily visualize the writer’s childhood and the present day. For instance, she states that she “rubbed and rubbed [the twigs] until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers.”

The writing has an extremely literary quality, particularly with its wordplay. The writer reappropriates words and meanings, and even appeals to the senses: “My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.” She later uses a parallelism to cleverly juxtapose her changed interests: “instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano.”

One of the essay’s main areas of improvement is its overemphasis on the “story” and lack of emphasis on the reflection. The second to last paragraph about changing perspective is crucial to the essay, as it ties the anecdote to larger lessons in the writer’s life. She states that she hasn’t changed, but has only shifted perspective. Yet, we don’t get a good sense of where this realization comes from and how it impacts her life going forward. 

The end of the essay offers a satisfying return to the fire imagery, and highlights the writer’s passion—the one thing that has remained constant in her life.

Essay 3: Last-Minute Switch

The morning of the Model United Nation conference, I walked into Committee feeling confident about my research. We were simulating the Nuremberg Trials – a series of post-World War II proceedings for war crimes – and my portfolio was of the Soviet Judge Major General Iona Nikitchenko. Until that day, the infamous Nazi regime had only been a chapter in my history textbook; however, the conference’s unveiling of each defendant’s crimes brought those horrors to life. The previous night, I had organized my research, proofread my position paper and gone over Judge Nikitchenko’s pertinent statements. I aimed to find the perfect balance between his stance and my own.

As I walked into committee anticipating a battle of wits, my director abruptly called out to me. “I’m afraid we’ve received a late confirmation from another delegate who will be representing Judge Nikitchenko. You, on the other hand, are now the defense attorney, Otto Stahmer.” Everyone around me buzzed around the room in excitement, coordinating with their allies and developing strategies against their enemies, oblivious to the bomb that had just dropped on me. I felt frozen in my tracks, and it seemed that only rage against the careless delegate who had confirmed her presence so late could pull me out of my trance. After having spent a month painstakingly crafting my verdicts and gathering evidence against the Nazis, I now needed to reverse my stance only three hours before the first session.

Gradually, anger gave way to utter panic. My research was fundamental to my performance, and without it, I knew I could add little to the Trials. But confident in my ability, my director optimistically recommended constructing an impromptu defense. Nervously, I began my research anew. Despite feeling hopeless, as I read through the prosecution’s arguments, I uncovered substantial loopholes. I noticed a lack of conclusive evidence against the defendants and certain inconsistencies in testimonies. My discovery energized me, inspiring me to revisit the historical overview in my conference “Background Guide” and to search the web for other relevant articles. Some Nazi prisoners had been treated as “guilty” before their court dates. While I had brushed this information under the carpet while developing my position as a judge, i t now became the focus of my defense. I began scratching out a new argument, centered on the premise that the allied countries had violated the fundamental rule that, a defendant was “not guilty” until proven otherwise.

At the end of the three hours, I felt better prepared. The first session began, and with bravado, I raised my placard to speak. Microphone in hand, I turned to face my audience. “Greetings delegates. I, Otto Stahmer would like to…….” I suddenly blanked. Utter dread permeated my body as I tried to recall my thoughts in vain. “Defence Attorney, Stahmer we’ll come back to you,” my Committee Director broke the silence as I tottered back to my seat, flushed with embarrassment. Despite my shame, I was undeterred. I needed to vindicate my director’s faith in me. I pulled out my notes, refocused, and began outlining my arguments in a more clear and direct manner. Thereafter, I spoke articulately, confidently putting forth my points. I was overjoyed when Secretariat members congratulated me on my fine performance.

Going into the conference, I believed that preparation was the key to success. I wouldn’t say I disagree with that statement now, but I believe adaptability is equally important. My ability to problem-solve in the face of an unforeseen challenge proved advantageous in the art of diplomacy. Not only did this experience transform me into a confident and eloquent delegate at that conference, but it also helped me become a more flexible and creative thinker in a variety of other capacities. Now that I know I can adapt under pressure, I look forward to engaging in activities that will push me to be even quicker on my feet.

This essay is an excellent example because it focuses on a unique challenge and is highly engaging. The writer details their experience reversing their stance in a Model UN trial with only a few hours notice, after having researched and prepared to argue the opposite perspective for a month. 

Their essay is written in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. The student openly shares their internal thoughts with us — we feel their anger and panic upon the reversal of roles. We empathize with their emotions of “utter dread” and embarrassment when they’re unable to speak. 

From the essay, we learn that the student believes in thorough preparation, but can also adapt to unforeseen obstacles. They’re able to rise to the challenge and put together an impromptu argument, think critically under pressure, and recover after their initial inability to speak. 

Essay 4: Music as a Coping Mechanism

CW: This essay mentions self-harm.

Sobbing uncontrollably, I parked around the corner from my best friend’s house. As I sat in the driver’s seat, I whispered the most earnest prayer I had ever offered.

Minutes before, I had driven to Colin’s house to pick up a prop for our upcoming spring musical. When I got there, his older brother, Tom, came to the door and informed me that no one else was home. “No,” I corrected, “Colin is here. He’s got a migraine.” Tom shook his head and gently told me where Colin actually was: the psychiatric unit of the local hospital. I felt a weight on my chest as I connected the dots; the terrifying picture rocked my safe little world. Tom’s words blurred as he explained Colin’s self-harm, but all I could think of was whether I could have stopped him. Those cuts on his arms had never been accidents. Colin had lied, very convincingly, many times. How could I have ignored the signs in front of me? Somehow, I managed to ask Tom whether I could see him, but he told me that visiting hours for non-family members were over for the day. I would have to move on with my afternoon.

Once my tears had subsided a little, I drove to the theater, trying to pull myself together and warm up to sing. How would I rehearse? I couldn’t sing three notes without bursting into tears. “I can’t do this,” I thought. But then I realized that the question wasn’t whether I could do it. I knew Colin would want me to push through, and something deep inside told me that music was the best way for me to process my grief. I needed to sing.

I practiced the lyrics throughout my whole drive. The first few times, I broke down in sobs. By the time I reached the theater, however, the music had calmed me. While Colin would never be far from my mind, I had to focus on the task ahead: recording vocals and then producing the video trailer that would be shown to my high school classmates. I fought to channel my worry into my recording. If my voice shook during the particularly heartfelt moments, it only added emotion and depth to my performance. I felt Colin’s absence next to me, but even before I listened to that first take, I knew it was a keeper.

With one of my hurdles behind me, I steeled myself again and prepared for the musical’s trailer. In a floor-length black cape and purple dress, I swept regally down the steps to my director, who waited outside. Under a gloomy sky that threatened to turn stormy, I boldly strode across the street, tossed a dainty yellow bouquet, and flashed confident grins at all those staring. My grief lurched inside, but I felt powerful. Despite my sadness, I could still make art.

To my own surprise, I successfully took back the day. I had felt pain, but I had not let it drown me – making music was a productive way to express my feelings than worrying. Since then, I have been learning to take better care of myself in difficult situations. That day before rehearsal, I found myself in the most troubling circumstances of my life thus far, but they did not sink me because I refused to sink. When my aunt developed cancer several months later, I knew that resolution would not come quickly, but that I could rely on music to cope with the agony, even when it would be easier to fall apart. Thankfully, Colin recovered from his injuries and was home within days. The next week, we stood together on stage at our show’s opening night. As our eyes met and our voices joined in song, I knew that music would always be our greatest mechanism for transforming pain into strength.

This essay is well-written, as we can feel the writer’s emotions through the thoughts they share, and visualize the night of the performance through their rich descriptions. Their varied sentence length also makes the essay more engaging.

That said, this essay is not a great example because of the framing of the topic. The writer can come off as insensitive since they make their friend’s struggle about themself and their emotions (and this is only worsened by the mention of their aunt’s cancer and how it was tough on them ). The essay would’ve been stronger if it focused on their guilt of not recognizing their friend’s struggles and spanned a longer period of time to demonstrate gradual relationship building and reflection. Still, this would’ve been difficult to do well.

In general, you should try to choose a challenge that is undeniably your own, and you should get at least one or two people to read your essay to give you candid feedback.

Essay 5: Dedicating a Track

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite. 

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin. 

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

While the writer didn’t succeed in getting the track dedicated to Coach Stark, their essay is certainly successful in showing their willingness to push themselves and take initiative.

The essay opens with a quote from Coach Stark that later comes full circle at the end of the essay. We learn about Stark’s impact and the motivation for trying to get the track dedicated to him.

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The essay goes on to explain how the writer overcame their apprehension of public speaking, and likens the process of submitting an appeal to the school board to running a race. This metaphor makes the writing more engaging and allows us to feel the student’s emotions.

While the student didn’t ultimately succeed in getting the track dedicated, we learn about their resilience and initiative: I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Overall, this essay is well-done. It demonstrates growth despite failing to meet a goal, which is a unique essay structure. The running metaphor and full-circle intro/ending also elevate the writing in this essay.

Essay 6: Body Image

CW: This essay mentions eating disorders.

I press the “discover” button on my Instagram app, hoping to find enticing pictures to satisfy my boredom. Scrolling through, I see funny videos and mouth-watering pictures of food. However, one image stops me immediately. A fit teenage girl with a “perfect body” relaxes in a bikini on a beach. Beneath it, I see a slew of flattering comments. I shake with disapproval over the image’s unrealistic quality. However, part of me still wants to have a body like hers so that others will make similar comments to me.

I would like to resolve a silent issue that harms many teenagers and adults: negative self image and low self-esteem in a world where social media shapes how people view each other. When people see the façades others wear to create an “ideal” image, they can develop poor thought patterns rooted in negative self-talk. The constant comparisons to “perfect” others make people feel small. In this new digital age, it is hard to distinguish authentic from artificial representations.

When I was 11, I developed anorexia nervosa. Though I was already thin, I wanted to be skinny like the models that I saw on the magazine covers on the grocery store stands. Little did I know that those models probably also suffered from disorders, and that photoshop erased their flaws. I preferred being underweight to being healthy. No matter how little I ate or how thin I was, I always thought that I was too fat. I became obsessed with the number on the scale and would try to eat the least that I could without my parents urging me to take more. Fortunately, I stopped engaging in anorexic behaviors before middle school. However, my underlying mental habits did not change. The images that had provoked my disorder in the first place were still a constant presence in my life.

By age 15, I was in recovery from anorexia, but suffered from depression. While I used to only compare myself to models, the growth of social media meant I also compared myself to my friends and acquaintances. I felt left out when I saw my friends’ excitement about lake trips they had taken without me. As I scrolled past endless photos of my flawless, thin classmates with hundreds of likes and affirming comments, I felt my jealousy spiral. I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.” When that didn’t work, I started to feel too anxious to post anything at all.  

Body image insecurities and social media comparisons affect thousands of people – men, women, children, and adults – every day. I am lucky – after a few months of my destructive social media habits, I came across a video that pointed out the illusory nature of social media; many Instagram posts only show off good things while people hide their flaws. I began going to therapy, and recovered from my depression. To address the problem of self-image and social media, we can all focus on what matters on the inside and not what is on the surface. As an effort to become healthy internally, I started a club at my school to promote clean eating and radiating beauty from within. It has helped me grow in my confidence, and today I’m not afraid to show others my struggles by sharing my experience with eating disorders. Someday, I hope to make this club a national organization to help teenagers and adults across the country. I support the idea of body positivity and embracing difference, not “perfection.” After all, how can we be ourselves if we all look the same?

This essay covers the difficult topics of eating disorders and mental health. If you’re thinking about covering similar topics in your essay, we recommend reading our post Should You Talk About Mental Health in College Essays?

The short answer is that, yes, you can talk about mental health, but it can be risky. If you do go that route, it’s important to focus on what you learned from the experience.

We can see that the writer of this essay has been through a lot, and a strength of their essay is their vulnerability, in excerpts such as this: I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.”

The student goes on to share how they recovered from their depression through an eye-opening video and therapy sessions, and they’re now helping others find their self-worth as well. It’s great that this essay looks towards the future and shares the writer’s goals of making their club a national organization; we can see their ambition and compassion.

The main weakness of this essay is that it doesn’t focus enough on their recovery process, which is arguably the most important part. They could’ve told us more about the video they watched or the process of starting their club and the interactions they’ve had with other members.

Still, this essay shows us that this student is honest, self-aware, and caring, which are all qualities admissions officer are looking for.

Essay 7: Health Crisis

Tears streamed down my face and my mind was paralyzed with fear. Sirens blared, but the silent panic in my own head was deafening. I was muted by shock. A few hours earlier, I had anticipated a vacation in Washington, D.C., but unexpectedly, I was rushing to the hospital behind an ambulance carrying my mother. As a fourteen-year-old from a single mother household, without a driver’s license, and seven hours from home, I was distraught over the prospect of losing the only parent I had. My fear turned into action as I made some of the bravest decisions of my life. 

Three blood transfusions later, my mother’s condition was stable, but we were still states away from home, so I coordinated with my mother’s doctors in North Carolina to schedule the emergency operation that would save her life. Throughout her surgery, I anxiously awaited any word from her surgeon, but each time I asked, I was told that there had been another complication or delay. Relying on my faith and positive attitude, I remained optimistic that my mother would survive and that I could embrace new responsibilities.

My mother had been a source of strength for me, and now I would be strong for her through her long recovery ahead. As I started high school, everyone thought the crisis was over, but it had really just started to impact my life. My mother was often fatigued, so I assumed more responsibility, juggling family duties, school, athletics, and work. I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover. I didn’t know I was capable of such maturity and resourcefulness until it was called upon. Each day was a stage in my gradual transformation from dependence to relative independence.

Throughout my mother’s health crisis, I matured by learning to put others’ needs before my own. As I worried about my mother’s health, I took nothing for granted, cherished what I had, and used my daily activities as motivation to move forward. I now take ownership over small decisions such as scheduling daily appointments and managing my time but also over major decisions involving my future, including the college admissions process. Although I have become more independent, my mother and I are inseparably close, and the realization that I almost lost her affects me daily. Each morning, I wake up ten minutes early simply to eat breakfast with my mother and spend time with her before our busy days begin. I am aware of how quickly life can change. My mother remains a guiding force in my life, but the feeling of empowerment I discovered within myself is the ultimate form of my independence. Though I thought the summer before my freshman year would be a transition from middle school to high school, it was a transformation from childhood to adulthood.

This essay feels real and tells readers a lot about the writer. To start at the beginning, the intro is 10/10. It has drama, it has emotions, and it has the reader wanting more.

And, when you keep going, you get to learn a lot about a very resilient and mature student. Through sentences like “I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover” and “Relying on my faith and positive attitude, I remained optimistic that my mother would survive and that I could embrace new responsibilities,” the reader shows us that they are aware of their resilience and maturity, but are not arrogant about it. It is simply a fact that they have proven through their actions!

This essay makes us want to cheer for the writer, and they certainly seem like someone who would thrive in a more independent college environment.

Essay 8: Turned Tables

“You ruined my life!” After months of quiet anger, my brother finally confronted me. To my shame, I had been appallingly ignorant of his pain.

Despite being twins, Max and I are profoundly different. Having intellectual interests from a young age that, well, interested very few of my peers, I often felt out of step in comparison with my highly-social brother. Everything appeared to come effortlessly for Max and, while we share an extremely tight bond, his frequent time away with friends left me feeling more and more alone as we grew older.

When my parents learned about The Green Academy, we hoped it would be an opportunity for me to find not only an academically challenging environment, but also – perhaps more importantly – a community. This meant transferring the family from Drumfield to Kingston. And while there was concern about Max, we all believed that given his sociable nature, moving would be far less impactful on him than staying put might be on me.

As it turned out, Green Academy was everything I’d hoped for. I was ecstatic to discover a group of students with whom I shared interests and could truly engage. Preoccupied with new friends and a rigorous course load, I failed to notice that the tables had turned. Max, lost in the fray and grappling with how to make connections in his enormous new high school, had become withdrawn and lonely. It took me until Christmas time – and a massive argument – to recognize how difficult the transition had been for my brother, let alone that he blamed me for it.

Through my own journey of searching for academic peers, in addition to coming out as gay when I was 12, I had developed deep empathy for those who had trouble fitting in. It was a pain I knew well and could easily relate to. Yet after Max’s outburst, my first response was to protest that our parents – not I – had chosen to move us here. In my heart, though, I knew that regardless of who had made the decision, we ended up in Kingston for my benefit. I was ashamed that, while I saw myself as genuinely compassionate, I had been oblivious to the heartache of the person closest to me. I could no longer ignore it – and I didn’t want to.

We stayed up half the night talking, and the conversation took an unexpected turn. Max opened up and shared that it wasn’t just about the move. He told me how challenging school had always been for him, due to his dyslexia, and that the ever-present comparison to me had only deepened his pain.

We had been in parallel battles the whole time and, yet, I only saw that Max was in distress once he experienced problems with which I directly identified. I’d long thought Max had it so easy – all because he had friends. The truth was, he didn’t need to experience my personal brand of sorrow in order for me to relate – he had felt plenty of his own.

My failure to recognize Max’s suffering brought home for me the profound universality and diversity of personal struggle; everyone has insecurities, everyone has woes, and everyone – most certainly – has pain. I am acutely grateful for the conversations he and I shared around all of this, because I believe our relationship has been fundamentally strengthened by a deeper understanding of one another. Further, this experience has reinforced the value of constantly striving for deeper sensitivity to the hidden struggles of those around me. I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story.

Here you can find a prime example that you don’t have to have fabulous imagery or flowery prose to write a successful essay. You just have to be clear and say something that matters. This essay is simple and beautiful. It almost feels like having a conversation with a friend and learning that they are an even better person than you already thought they were.

Through this narrative, readers learn a lot about the writer—where they’re from, what their family life is like, what their challenges were as a kid, and even their sexuality. We also learn a lot about their values—notably, the value they place on awareness, improvement, and consideration of others. Though they never explicitly state it (which is great because it is still crystal clear!), this student’s ending of “I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story” shows that they are constantly striving for improvement and finding lessons anywhere they can get them in life.

Where to Get Your Overcoming Challenges Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Overcoming Challenges essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Facing The Challenges Of Adolescence

In order to enjoy a crisis-free adolescence and emerge a responsible adult, it is paramount that you possess skills such as decision-making, assertiveness and goal-setting skills. You also need to be able to take charge of your life. The following tips will help you to do just that:

Know your values

Your values are what you believe in, what you think is right or wrong, and what is most important to you. Decisions that you’ll make will be based on your values. You draw your values from a variety of sources, such as parents, family friends, religion, etc. However, do not ‘borrow’ other people’s values – let your values be yours.

Draw up a plan for your life

Many successful people set targets for themselves and are goal-oriented. Have a plan of what you want and how to go about getting it. Never wait till you get to the bridge before looking for ways to cross it – decide ahead what you want achieved by the time you are 20, 35, 50 etc.

Develop yourself

Your goals will remain dreams unless you develop yourself. Read books on diverse topics; gather facts about successful people and how they dealt with the difficult situation they faced. In short, broaden your horizon.

Have a role model

A role model is someone that you admire and respect; someone you look up to and want to be like. Choose a role model and deal with problems they way your role model would if he/she were faced with your problem. However, it is not advisable that you choose a TV star as your role model, because real-life is not usually as depicted in movies.

Make decisions

Decisions about career, sex, drugs and alcohol are usually some of the toughest decisions you will have to make as an adolescent. Before you make decisions, get facts about each choice, think properly about them, i.e. weigh the pros and cons; and discuss available options with your parents, a trusted friend or adult.

Be Assertive

Being assertive means expressing your views about an issue without hurting the other person’s feelings. Behaviours that enhance assertiveness include honesty, speaking for yourself, communicating your feelings as they come up, instead of waiting; and being direct, i.e. use the “I” word. Communicate your feelings and don’t be cajoled into doing things contrary to your values. However, don’t be aggressive – aggressive behaviour shows a lack of concern for the other person’s feelings.

Learn a Skill

The feeling that you have a skill is a positive one. There are various skills that you can learn – computer skills, teaching skills, writing skills, drawing skills or acting skills. These skills could in turn fetch you some money and give you some measure of independence. However, you must be ready to meet and overcome disappointments. You must be prepared to work as hard and as long as the situation demands.

Take advantage of holiday periods

Holiday periods are not meant only for fun and play – they are also a time to do something different from the routine school work. Holiday periods can be spent learning poetry, bookkeeping, car maintenance, interior decorating, etc; or acquiring knowledge about issues that range from wildlife and nature to politics and government. These you could do and still have fun.

Believe in yourself

Above all, believe in yourself. Many successful people are where they are today, because of the confidence they have in their abilities. Talking and thinking positively about yourself helps to achieve your goals faster. Believe you can rise above every difficult situation and make a success of them. Do not let negative comment from people set you back. Growing up is all about making decisions – some good, some bad. However, do not let bad decisions discourage you. A popular song sums it up: “there’s a hero if you look inside your heart…”

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Privacy Overview

Calculate for all schools

Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, writing a narrative essay about overcoming a challenge—any advice.

I'm working on a narrative essay about overcoming a challenge in my life, but I'm struggling with how to focus it and what details to include. Can anyone on here give me some advice on how to approach this essay? Thanks in advance!

Sure, I'd be happy to help! Writing an engaging and impactful narrative essay about overcoming a challenge can be a powerful way to showcase your strengths and resilience. CollegeVine has written an article breaking down this exact type of essay—here are their tips, which you should find helpful: https://blog.collegevine.com/overcoming-challenges-essay

Remember, a powerful narrative essay about overcoming a challenge should demonstrate your personal growth, resilience, and character development. Showcasing these qualities through your story can make your essay a compelling and memorable piece of your application.

For inspiration, you may want to check out these example essays, which were all written by real students: https://blog.collegevine.com/overcoming-challenges-college-essay-examples

Good luck with writing, and I hope this advice helps you craft an outstanding essay!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Article Menu

• Subscribe SciFeed
• Recommended Articles
• Google Scholar
• on Google Scholar
• Table of Contents

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

JSmol Viewer

Environmentally friendly and effective alternative approaches to pest management: recent advances and challenges.

1. Introduction

2. the potential application of secondary metabolites for green plant protection, 3. phytohormone treatment as a pest control strategy, 4. the introduction of biocontrol agents into pest management, 5. insect pheromones and their potential use in pest management, 6. concluding remarks and future perspectives, author contributions, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

• FAO’S Director. FAO’s Director-General on How to Feed the World in 2050. Popul. Dev. Rev. 2009 , 35 , 837–839. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Food and Agriculture Organization. Pests on the March as Climate Change Fans Spread of Crop Destroyers. Available online: https://news.trust.org/item/20210602151218-6e6zv (accessed on 10 August 2024).
• Drakulic, J.; Caulfield, J.; Woodcock, C.; Jones, S.P.T.; Linforth, R.; Bruce, T.J.A.; Ray, R.V. Sharing a host plant (wheat [ Triticum aestivum ]) increases the fitness of Fusarium graminearum and the severity of Fusarium head blight but reduces the fitness of grain aphids ( Sitobion avenae ). Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2015 , 81 , 3492–3501. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• De Zutter, N.; Audenaert, K.; Ameye, M.; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, S.; Haesaert, G.; Smagghe, G. The plant response induced in wheat ears by a combined attack of Sitobion avenae aphids and Fusarium graminearum boosts fungal infection and deoxynivalenol production. Mol. Plant Pathol. 2017 , 18 , 98–109. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Hu, Z.; Zhao, H.; Thieme, T. Comparison of the potential rate of population increase of brown and green color morphs of Sitobion avenae (Homoptera: Aphididae) on barley infected and uninfected with Barley yellow dwarf virus. Insect Sci. 2014 , 21 , 326–333. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• FAOSTAT. Pesticides. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. Available online: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/RP (accessed on 10 August 2024).
• Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, People Republic of China. The Utilization Rate of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides in China Is Steadily Improving. 2019. Available online: http://country.people.com.cn/n1/2019/1218/c419842-31512429.html (accessed on 10 August 2024).
• Miao, J.; Du, Z.; Wu, Y.; Gong, Z.; Jiang, Y.; Duan, Y.; Li, T.; Lei, C. Sub-lethal effects of four neonicotinoid seed treatments on the demography and feeding behaviour of the wheat aphid Sitobion avenae . Pest Manag. Sci. 2014 , 70 , 55–59. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Foster, S.P.; Paul, V.L.; Slater, R.; Warren, A.; Denholm, I.; Field, L.M.; Williamson, M.S. A mutation (L1014F) in the voltage-gated sodium channel of the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae , is associated with resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. Pest Manag. Sci. 2014 , 70 , 1249–1253. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, People Republic of China. Action Plan for Reduction of Chemical Fertilizers by 2025 and Action Plan for Reduction of Chemical Pesticides by 2025. Available online: https://www.moa.gov.cn/govpublic/ZZYGLS/202212/t20221201_6416398.htm (accessed on 10 August 2024).
• Šunjka, D.; Mechora, Š. An Alternative Source of Biopesticides and Improvement in Their Formulation—Recent Advances. Plants 2022 , 11 , 3172. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yu, Y.; Wei, Z. Increased oriental armyworm and aphid resistance in transgenic wheat stably expressing Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt ) endotoxin and Pinellia ternate agglutinin (PTA). Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult. 2008 , 94 , 33–44. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Gatehouse, J.A. Biotechnological prospects for engineering insect-resistant plants. Plant Physiol. 2008 , 146 , 881–887. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Isman, M.B. Botanical insecticides in the twenty-first century—Fulfilling their promise? Annu. Rev. Entomol. 2020 , 65 , 233–249. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, J.; Luo, Q.; Liu, K.; Ren, D.; Chen, T. Current registration status and research progress on insecticidal activity of plant-derived alkaloid compounds. World Pestic. 2023 , 3 , 13–22. [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhao, J.; Liang, D.; Li, W.; Yan, X.; Qiao, J.; Caiyin, Q. Research Progress on the synthetic biology of botanical biopesticides. Bioengineering 2022 , 9 , 207. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Steppuhn, A.; Baldwin, I.T. Resistance management in a native plant: Nicotine prevents herbivores from compensating for plant protease inhibitors. Ecol. Lett. 2007 , 10 , 499–511. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Barba, F.J.; Nikmaram, N.; Roohinejad, S.; Khelfa, A.; Zhu, Z.; Koubaa, M. Bioavailability of glucosinolates and their breakdown products: Impact of processing. Front. Nutr. 2016 , 3 , 24. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Agerbirk, N.; Olsen, C.E. Glucosinolate structures in evolution. Phytochemistry 2012 , 77 , 16–45. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Wittstock, U.; Halkier, B.A. Glucosinolate research in the Arabidopsis era. Trends Plant Sci. 2002 , 7 , 263–270. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Prieto, M.A.; López, C.J.; Simal-Gandara, J. Chapter Six-Glucosinolates: Molecular structure, breakdown, genetic, bioavailability, properties and healthy and adverse effects. In Advances in Food and Nutrition Research ; Ferreira, I.C.F.R., Barros, L., Eds.; Academic Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2019; pp. 305–350. [ Google Scholar ]
• War, A.R.; Paulraj, M.G.; Ahmad, T.; Buhroo, A.A.; Hussain, B.; Ignacimuthu, S.; Sharma, H.C. Mechanisms of plant defense against insect herbivores. Plant Signal. Behav. 2012 , 7 , 1306–1320. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Constabel, C.P.; Barbehenn, R. Defensive roles of polyphenol oxidase in plants. In Induced Plant Resistance to Herbivory ; Schaller, A., Ed.; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherland, 2008; pp. 253–270. [ Google Scholar ]
• Duffey, S.S.; Stout, M.J. Antinutritive and toxic components of plant defense against insects. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 1996 , 32 , 3–37. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Bhonwong, A.; Stout, M.J.; Attajarusit, J.; Tantasawat, P. Defensive role of tomato polyphenol oxidases against cotton bollworm ( Helicoverpa armigera ) and beet armyworm ( Spodoptera exigua ). J. Chem. Ecol. 2009 , 35 , 28–38. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Luo, K.; Guo, J.; He, D.; Li, G.; Ouellet, T. Deoxynivalenol accumulation and detoxification in cereals and its potential role in wheat– Fusarium graminearum interactions. aBIOTECH 2023 , 4 , 155–171. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, J.; Sun, X. Recent advances in polyphenol oxidase-mediated plant stress responses. Phytochemistry 2021 , 181 , 112588. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Barakat, A.; Bagniewska-Zadworna, A.; Frost, C.J.; Carlson, J.E. Phylogeny and expression profiling of CAD and CAD-like genes in hybrid Populus ( P. deltoides × P. nigra ): Evidence from herbivore damage for subfunctionalization and functional divergence. BMC Plant Biol. 2010 , 10 , 100. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Johnson, M.T.J.; Smith, S.D.; Rausher, M.D. Plant sex and the evolution of plant defenses against herbivores. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2009 , 106 , 18079–18084. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Kumar, S.; Pandey, A.K. Chemistry and biological activities of flavonoids: An overview. Sci. World J. 2013 , 2013 , 162750. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Mathesius, U. Flavonoid functions in plants and their interactions with other organisms. Plants 2018 , 7 , 30. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Pereira, V.; Figueira, O.; Castilho, P.C. Flavonoids as insecticides in crop protection—A review of current research and future prospects. Plants 2024 , 13 , 776. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Goławska, S.; Łukasik, I. Antifeedant activity of luteolin and genistein against the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum . J. Pest Sci. 2012 , 85 , 443–450. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Stec, K.; Kordan, B.; Gabryś, B. Effect of Soy Leaf Flavonoids on Pea Aphid Probing Behavior. Insects 2021 , 12 , 756. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Diaz Napal, G.N.; Palacios, S.M. Bioinsecticidal effect of the flavonoids pinocembrin and quercetin against Spodoptera frugiperda . J. Pest Sci. 2015 , 88 , 629–635. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Diaz Napal, G.N.; Defagó, M.T.; Valladares, G.R.; Palacios, S.M. Response of Epilachna paenulata to two flavonoids, pinocembrin and quercetin, in a comparative study. J. Chem. Ecol. 2010 , 36 , 898–904. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Punia, A.; Chauhan, N.S. Effect of daidzein on growth, development and biochemical physiology of insect pest, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius). Comp. Biochem. Physiol. Part C 2022 , 262 , 109465. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Ren, Y.; Li, Q.; Lu, L.; Jin, H.; Tao, K.; Hou, T. Toxicity and physiological actions of biflavones on potassium current in insect neuronal cells. Pestic. Biochem. Physiol. 2021 , 171 , 104735. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Frey, M.; Schullehner, K.; Dick, R.; Fiesselmann, A.; Gierl, A. Benzoxazinoid biosynthesis, a model for evolution of secondary metabolic pathways in plants. Phytochemistry 2009 , 70 , 1645–1651. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Hu, L.; Wu, Z.; Robert, C.A.M.; Ouyang, X.; Züst, T.; Mestrot, A.; Xu, J.; Erb, M. Soil chemistry determines whether defensive plant secondary metabolites promote or suppress herbivore growth. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2021 , 118 , e2109602118. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Niemeyer, H.M. Hydroxamic acids derived from 2-Hydroxy-2H-1,4-Benzoxazin-3(4H)-one: Key defense chemicals of cereals. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2009 , 57 , 1677–1696. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, Z.; Lan, H.; Cao, H.; Hu, X.; Fan, Y.; Song, Y.; Wu, L.; Liu, T. Impacts of constitutive and induced benzoxazinoids levels on wheat resistance to the grain aphid ( Sitobion avenae ). Metabolites 2021 , 11 , 783. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Castañeda, L.E.; Figueroa, C.C.; Nespolo, R.F. Do insect pests perform better on highly defended plants? Costs and benefits of induced detoxification defences in the aphid Sitobion avenae . J. Evol. Biol. 2010 , 23 , 2474–2483. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Ahmad, S.; Veyrat, N.; Gordon-Weeks, R.; Zhang, Y.; Martin, J.; Smart, L.; Glauser, G.; Erb, M.; Flors, V.; Frey, M.; et al. Benzoxazinoid metabolites regulate innate immunity against aphids and fungi in maize. Plant Physiol. 2011 , 157 , 317–327. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Meihls, L.N.; Handrick, V.; Glauser, G.; Barbier, H.; Kaur, H.; Haribal, M.M.; Lipka, A.E.; Gershenzon, J.; Buckler, E.S.; Erb, M.; et al. Natural variation in maize aphid resistance is associated with 2,4-Dihydroxy-7-Methoxy-1,4-Benzoxazin-3-One glucoside methyltransferase activity. Plant Cell 2013 , 25 , 2341–2355. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Christianson, D.W. Structural and chemical biology of terpenoid cyclases. Chem. Rev. 2017 , 117 , 11570–11648. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Li, C.; Zha, W.; Li, W.; Wang, J.; You, A. Advances in the biosynthesis of terpenoids and their ecological functions in plant resistance. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023 , 24 , 11561. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Tallamy, D.W.; Stull, J.; Ehresman, N.P.; Gorski, P.M.; Mason, C.E. Cucurbitacins as feeding and oviposition deterrents to insects. Environ. Entomol. 1997 , 26 , 678–683. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Arimura, G.; Ozawa, R.; Shimoda, T.; Nishioka, T.; Boland, W.; Takabayashi, J. Herbivory-induced volatiles elicit defence genes in lima bean leaves. Nature 2000 , 406 , 512–515. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Arimura, G.; Ozawa, R.; Horiuchi, J.; Nishioka, T.; Takabayashi, J. Plant–plant interactions mediated by volatiles emitted from plants infested by spider mites. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 2001 , 29 , 1049–1061. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Li, B.; Xie, J.; Xie, F.; Li, H.; Hu, J.; Li, Q.; Liang, H.; Ao, Z.; Fan, Y.; Zhang, W.; et al. Polyacetylenes from Bidens pilosa Linn., promising insecticides with anti-inflammatory effects on HaCaT cells. Ind. Crops Prod. 2021 , 171 , 113929. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Luo, K.; He, D.; Guo, J.; Li, G.; Li, B.; Chen, X. Molecular advances in breeding for durable resistance against pests and diseases in wheat: Opportunities and challenges. Agronomy 2023 , 13 , 628. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Christou, P.; Capell, T.; Kohli, A.; Gatehouse, J.A.; Gatehouse, A.M.R. Recent developments and future prospects in insect pest control in transgenic crops. Trends Plant Sci. 2006 , 11 , 302–308. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Mi, X.; Liu, X.; Yan, H.; Liang, L.; Zhou, X.; Yang, J.; Si, H.; Zhang, N. Expression of the Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) gene in transgenic potato plants confers resistance to aphids. Comptes Rendus Biol. 2017 , 340 , 7–12. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Howe, G.A.; Jander, G. Plant immunity to insect herbivores. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 2008 , 59 , 41–66. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Hare, J.D. Ecological role of volatiles produced by plants in response to damage by herbivorous insects. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 2011 , 56 , 161–180. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Bozorov, T.A.; Dinh, S.T.; Baldwin, I.T. JA but not JA-Ile is the cell-nonautonomous signal activating JA mediated systemic defenses to herbivory in Nicotiana attenuata . J. Integr. Plant Biol. 2017 , 59 , 552–571. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhao, L.Y.; Chen, J.L.; Cheng, D.F.; Sun, J.R.; Liu, Y.; Tian, Z. Biochemical and molecular characterizations of Sitobion avenae -induced wheat defense responses. Crop Prot. 2009 , 28 , 435–442. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Falk, K.L.; Kästner, J.; Bodenhausen, N.; Schramm, K.; Paetz, C.; Vassão, D.G.; Reichelt, M.; von Knorre, D.; Bergelson, J.; Erb, M.; et al. The role of glucosinolates and the jasmonic acid pathway in resistance of Arabidopsis thaliana against molluscan herbivores. Mol. Ecol. 2014 , 23 , 1188–1203. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Escobar-Bravo, R.; Alba, J.M.; Pons, C.; Granell, A.; Kant, M.R.; Moriones, E.; Fernández-Muñoz, R. A jasmonate-inducible defense trait transferred from wild into cultivated tomato establishes increased whitefly resistance and reduced viral disease incidence. Front. Plant Sci. 2016 , 7 , 1732. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Baldwin, I.T.; Hamilton, W. Jasmonate-induced responses of Nicotiana sylvestris results in fitness costs due to impaired competitive ability for nitrogen. J. Chem. Ecol. 2000 , 26 , 915–952. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ma, C.; Yan, F.; Yang, F.; Tang, J.; Wang, L. Effects of jasmonic acid seed treatment on Yunyan 87 resistance to Spodoptera litura . Chin. Tob. Sci. 2018 , 39 , 76–81. [ Google Scholar ]
• Koramutla, M.K.; Kaur, A.; Negi, M.; Venkatachalam, P.; Bhattacharya, R. Elicitation of jasmonate-mediated host defense in Brassica juncea (L.) attenuates population growth of mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.). Planta 2014 , 240 , 177–194. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Gui, L.; Chen, Z.; Liu, S. Effect of exogenous MJA treatment of tea plants on the growth of geometrid larvae. Agric. Sci. China 2005 , 38 , 673–679. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bruinsma, M.; Posthumus, M.A.; Mumm, R.; Mueller, M.J.; van Loon, J.J.A.; Dicke, M. Jasmonic acid-induced volatiles of Brassica oleracea attract parasitoids: Effects of time and dose, and comparison with induction by herbivores. J. Exp. Bot. 2009 , 60 , 2575–2587. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Smart, L.E.; Martin, J.L.; Limpalaër, M.; Bruce, T.J.A.; Pickett, J.A. Responses of herbivore and predatory mites to tomato plants exposed to jasmonic acid seed treatment. J. Chem. Ecol. 2013 , 39 , 1297–1300. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• El-Wakeil, N.E.; Volkmar, C.; Sallam, A.A. Jasmonic acid induces resistance to economically important insect pests in winter wheat. Pest Manag. Sci. 2010 , 66 , 549–554. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Dong, J.; Wan, G.; Liang, Z. Accumulation of salicylic acid-induced phenolic compounds and raised activities of secondary metabolic and antioxidative enzymes in Salvia miltiorrhiza cell culture. J. Biotechnol. 2010 , 148 , 99–104. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Khalili, N.; Oraei, M.; Gohari, G.; Panahirad, S.; Nourafcan, H.; Hano, C. Chitosan-enriched salicylic acid nanoparticles enhanced anthocyanin content in grape ( Vitis vinifera L. cv. Red Sultana ) Berries. Polymers 2022 , 14 , 3349. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wang, J.; Tao, M.; Xu, L.; Fan, N.; Zhao, C.; Xiao, Z.; Wang, Z. Chitosan nanocarriers loaded with salicylic acid for controlling fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda ) and alleviating oxidative stress in maize plants. Environ. Sci. Nano 2023 , 10 , 3295–3306. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Penninckx, I.A.; Eggermont, K.; Terras, F.R.; Thomma, B.P.; De Samblanx, G.W.; Buchala, A.; Métraux, J.P.; Manners, J.M.; Broekaert, W.F. Pathogen-induced systemic activation of a plant defensin gene in Arabidopsis follows a salicylic acid-independent pathway. Plant Cell 1996 , 8 , 2309–2323. [ Google Scholar ] [ PubMed ]
• Shigenaga, A.M.; Argueso, C.T. No hormone to rule them all: Interactions of plant hormones during the responses of plants to pathogens. Semin. Cell Dev. Biol. 2016 , 56 , 174–189. [ Google Scholar ] [ PubMed ]
• Chen, Z.; Silva, H.; Klessig, D.F. Active oxygen species in the induction of plant systemic acquired resistance by salicylic acid. Science 1993 , 262 , 1883–1886. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chen, Z.; Klessig, D.F. Identification of a soluble salicylic acid-binding protein that may function in signal transduction in the plant disease-resistance response. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1991 , 88 , 8179–8183. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Luo, K.; Zhao, H.; Wang, X.; Kang, Z. Prevalent pest management strategies for grain aphids: Opportunities and challenges. Front. Plant Sci. 2022 , 12 , 3252. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Luo, K.; Ouellet, T.; Zhao, H.; Wang, X.; Kang, Z. Wheat– Fusarium graminearum interactions under Sitobion avenae influence: From nutrients and hormone signals. Front. Nutr. 2021 , 8 , 703293. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yan, X.; Xu, S.; Guo, J.; Hu, J.; He, D.; Jia, L.; Shang, H.; Li, G.; Luo, K. Multifunctionality of jasmonic acid accumulation during aphid infestation in altering the plant physiological traits that suppress the plant defenses in wheat cultivar XN979. Insects 2023 , 14 , 622. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Evans, E.W. Lady beetles as predators of insects other than Hemiptera. Biol. Control 2009 , 51 , 255–267. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Colfer, R.G.; Rosenheim, J.A. Predation on immature parasitoids and its impact on aphid suppression. Oecologia 2001 , 126 , 292–304. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Madadi, H. Lady beetles; lots of efforts but few successes. In Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran: A Review from Fundamental and Applied Aspects ; Karimi, J., Madadi, H., Eds.; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2021; pp. 23–87. [ Google Scholar ]
• Lanzoni, A.; Accinelli, G.; Bazzocchi, G.G.; Burgio, G. Biological traits and life table of the exotic Harmonia axyridis compared with Hippodamia variegata , and Adalia bipunctata (Col., Coccinellidae). J. Appl. Entomol. 2004 , 128 , 298–306. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Hodek, I.; Michaud, J.P. Why is Coccinella septempunctata so successful? (A point-of-view). Eur. J. Entomol. 2008 , 105 , 1–12. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wu, K.M.; Guo, Y.Y. The evolution of cotton pest management practices in China. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 2005 , 50 , 31–52. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• The Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Natural Enemies. Available online: https://ipp.caas.cn/kjfw/tgcgkjfw/tdkc/index.htm (accessed on 10 August 2024).
• Madadi, H.; Mohajeri Parizi, E.; Allahyari, H.; Enkegaard, A. Assessment of the biological control capability of Hippodamia variegata (Col.: Coccinellidae) using functional response experiments. J. Pest Sci. 2011 , 84 , 447–455. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Pappas, M.L.; Broufas, G.D.; Koveos, D.S. Effects of various prey species on development, survival and reproduction of the predatory lacewing Dichochrysa prasina (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). Biol. Control 2007 , 43 , 163–170. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Hassanpour, M.; Asadi, M.; Jooyandeh, A.; Madadi, H. Lacewings: Research and applied aspects. In Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran: A Review from Fundamental and Applied Aspects ; Karimi, J., Madadi, H., Eds.; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2021; pp. 175–194. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hassanpour, M.; Mohaghegh, J.; Iranipour, S.; Nouri-Ganbalani, G.; Enkegaard, A. Functional response of Chrysoperla carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) to Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Effect of prey and predator stages. Insect Sci. 2011 , 18 , 217–224. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Xia, P.; Wang, B.; Xie, X.; Feng, Y.; Huang, Y. Effect of temperature on survival and immature development of Arma chinensis . J. Asia-Pac. Entomol. 2022 , 25 , 101927. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Park, Y.; Lee, J. UV-LED lights enhance the establishment and biological control efficacy of Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae). PLoS ONE 2021 , 16 , e0245165. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Silveira, L.C.P.; Souza, I.L.; Tomazella, V.B.; Mendez, H.A.G. Parasitoid insects. In Natural Enemies of Insect Pests in Neotropical Agroecosystems: Biological Control and Functional Biodiversity ; Souza, B., Vázquez, L.L., Marucci, R.C., Eds.; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2019; pp. 97–109. [ Google Scholar ]
• Iranipour, S.; Vaez, N. Egg parasitoids: Chalcidoidea with particular emphasis on Trichogrammatidae. In Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran: A Review from Fundamental and Applied Aspects ; Karimi, J., Madadi, H., Eds.; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2021; pp. 197–231. [ Google Scholar ]
• Fransen, J.J.; van Montfort, M.A.J. Functional response and host preference of Encarsia formosa : Gahan (Hym., Aphelinidae), a parasitoid of greenhouse whitefly T. vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hom., Aleyrodidae). J. Appl. Entomol. 1987 , 103 , 55–69. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Iranipour, S. Superfamily platygastroidea: Natural enemies of true bugs, moths, other insects, and spiders. In Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran: A Review from Fundamental and Applied Aspects ; Karimi, J., Madadi, H., Eds.; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2021; pp. 293–332. [ Google Scholar ]
• Du, C.; Yang, B.; Wu, J.; Ali, S. Identification and virulence characterization of two Akanthomyces attenuatus isolates against Megalurothrips usitatus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Insects 2019 , 10 , 168. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Faria, M.R.D.; Wraight, S.P. Mycoinsecticides and Mycoacaricides: A comprehensive list with worldwide coverage and international classification of formulation types. Biol. Control 2007 , 43 , 237–256. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ma, K.; Hao, S.; Zhao, H.; Kang, L. Strip cropping wheat and alfalfa to improve the biological control of the wheat aphid Macrosiphum avenae by the mite Allothrombium ovatum . Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 2007 , 119 , 49–52. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Tscharntke, T.; Bommarco, R.; Clough, Y.; Crist, T.O.; Kleijn, D.; Rand, T.A.; Tylianakis, J.M.; Nouhuys, S.V.; Vidal, S. Conservation biological control and enemy diversity on a landscape scale. Biol. Control 2007 , 43 , 294–309. [ Google Scholar ]
• Soroker, V.; Harari, A.; Faleiro, J.R. The Role of semiochemicals in date pest management. In Sustainable Pest Management in Date Palm: Current Status and Emerging Challenges ; Wakil, W., Romeno Faleiro, J., Miller, T.A., Eds.; Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 2015; pp. 315–346. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hamadttu, A.F.E.; Jose, R.F. Semiochemicals and their potential use in pest management. In Biological Control of Pest and Vector Insects ; Vonnie, D.C.S., Ed.; IntechOpen: Rijeka, Croatia, 2017; Chapter 1. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cook, S.M.; Khan, Z.R.; Pickett, J.A. The use of push-pull strategies in integrated pest management. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 2007 , 52 , 375–400. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Pickett, J.A.; Woodcock, C.M.; Midega, C.A.; Khan, Z.R. Push–pull farming systems. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 2014 , 26 , 125–132. [ Google Scholar ]
• Alkema, J.T.; Dicke, M.; Wertheim, B. Context-dependence and the development of push-pull approaches for integrated management of Drosophila suzukii . Insects 2019 , 10 , 454. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Benelli, G.; Lucchi, A.; Thomson, D.; Ioriatti, C. Sex pheromone aerosol devices for mating disruption: Challenges for a brighter future. Insects 2019 , 10 , 308. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Witzgall, P.; Kirsch, P.; Cork, A. Sex pheromones and their impact on pest management. J. Chem. Ecol. 2010 , 36 , 80–100. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Blomquist, G.J.; Figueroa-Teran, R.; Aw, M.; Song, M.; Gorzalski, A.; Abbott, N.L.; Chang, E.; Tittiger, C. Pheromone production in bark beetles. Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 2010 , 40 , 699–712. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Steele, C.L.; Lewinsohn, E.; Croteau, R. Induced oleoresin biosynthesis in grand fir as a defense against bark beetles. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1995 , 92 , 4164–4168. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Yew, J.Y.; Chung, H. Insect pheromones: An overview of function, form, and discovery. Prog. Lipid Res. 2015 , 59 , 88–105. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Alam, A.; Abbas, S.; Abbas, A.; Abbas, M.; Hafeez, F.; Shakeel, M.; Xiao, F.; Zhao, C.R. Emerging trends in insect sex pheromones and traps for sustainable management of key agricultural pests in Asia: Beyond insecticides-a comprehensive review. Int. J. Trop. Insect Sci. 2023 , 43 , 1867–1882. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Foster, S.P.; Anderson, K.G. Some factors influencing calling behavior and mass emission rate of sex pheromone from the gland of the moth Chloridea virescens . J. Chem. Ecol. 2022 , 48 , 141–151. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Li, Z.; Zhang, S.; Luo, J.; Wang, C.; Lv, L.; Dong, S.; Cui, J. Transcriptome comparison of the sex pheromone glands from two sibling Helicoverpa species with opposite sex pheromone components. Sci. Rep. 2015 , 5 , 9324. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wu, H.; Hou, C.; Huang, L.; Yan, F.; Wang, C. Peripheral coding of sex pheromone blends with reverse ratios in two Helicoverpa species. PLoS ONE 2013 , 8 , e70078. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Tòth, M.; Sziràki, G.; Szöcs, G.; Sàringer, E. A pheromone inhibitor for male Grapholitha funebrana Tr., and its use for increasing the specificity of the lure for G. molesta Busck (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 1991 , 35 , 65–72. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Guerin, P.M.; Arn, H.; Buser, H.R.; Charmillot, P.; Tóth, M.; Sziráki, G. Sex pheromone of Grapholita funebrana occurrence of Z-8-andZ-10-Tetradecenyl acetate as secondary components. J. Chem. Ecol. 1986 , 12 , 1361–1368. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Li, L.; Xu, B.; Li, C.; Li, B.; Luo, K.; Li, G.; Chen, X. Functional disparity of four pheromone-binding proteins from the plum fruit moth Grapholita funebrana Treitscheke in detection of sex pheromone components. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2023 , 225 , 1267–1279. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Valladares, G.A.; González Audino, P.; Strumia, M.C. Preparation and evaluation of alginate/chitosan microspheres containing pheromones for pest control of Megaplatypus mutatus Chapuis (Platypodinae: Platypodidae). Polym. Int. 2016 , 65 , 216–223. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Higbee, B.S.; Burks, C.S.; Larsen, T.E. Demonstration and Characterization of a Persistent Pheromone Lure for the Navel Orangeworm, Amyelois transitella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Insects 2014 , 5 , 596–608. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Mori, B.A.; Evenden, M.L. Factors affecting pheromone-baited trap capture of male Coleophora deauratella , an invasive pest of clover in Canada. J. Econ. Entomol. 2013 , 106 , 844–854. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Bassi, F.M.; Bentley, A.R.; Charmet, G.; Ortiz, R.; Crossa, J. Breeding schemes for the implementation of genomic selection in wheat ( Triticum spp.). Plant Sci. 2016 , 242 , 23–36. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Ni, X.; Quisenberry, S.S. Diuraphis noxia and Rhopalosiphum padi (Hemiptera: Aphididae) interactions and their injury on resistant and susceptible cereal seedlings. J. Econ. Entomol. 2006 , 99 , 551–558. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Pitino, M.; Coleman, A.D.; Maffei, M.E.; Ridout, C.J.; Hogenhout, S.A. Silencing of aphid genes by dsRNA feeding from plants. PLoS ONE 2011 , 6 , e25709. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yang, L.; Ang, L.; Weilin, Z. Current understanding of the molecular players involved in resistance to rice planthoppers. Pest. Manag. Sci. 2019 , 10 , 2566–2574. [ Google Scholar ]
• Xu, L.; Duan, X.; Lv, Y.; Zhang, X.; Nie, Z.; Xie, C.; Ni, Z.; Liang, R. Silencing of an aphid carboxylesterase gene by use of plant-mediated RNAi impairs Sitobion avenae tolerance of phoxim insecticides. Transgenic Res. 2014 , 23 , 389–396. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lyu, Z.; Chen, J.; Lyu, J.; Guo, P.; Liu, J.; Liu, J.; Zhang, W. Spraying double-stranded RNA targets UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase in the control of Nilaparvata lugens . Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2024 , 271 , 132455. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zheng, Y.; Hu, Y.; Yan, S.; Zhou, H.; Song, D.; Yin, M.; Shen, J. A polymer/detergent formulation improves dsRNA penetration through the body wall and RNAi-induced mortality in the soybean aphid Aphis glycines . Pest Manag. Sci. 2019 , 75 , 1993–1999. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]

Click here to enlarge figure

Share and Cite

Shang, H.; He, D.; Li, B.; Chen, X.; Luo, K.; Li, G. Environmentally Friendly and Effective Alternative Approaches to Pest Management: Recent Advances and Challenges. Agronomy 2024 , 14 , 1807. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14081807

Shang H, He D, Li B, Chen X, Luo K, Li G. Environmentally Friendly and Effective Alternative Approaches to Pest Management: Recent Advances and Challenges. Agronomy . 2024; 14(8):1807. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14081807

Shang, Huanzhang, Dejia He, Boliao Li, Xiulin Chen, Kun Luo, and Guangwei Li. 2024. "Environmentally Friendly and Effective Alternative Approaches to Pest Management: Recent Advances and Challenges" Agronomy 14, no. 8: 1807. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14081807

Article Metrics

Further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals