The persistent presence of mite pests poses an ongoing challenge to the sustainable cultivation of numerous economically important crops on a global scale. Acaricide application stands as a key element in management practices to date. Unfortunately, the relentless use of acaricides in the field has led to the development of resistance among mite populations to several acaricidal compounds. The advancement and application of reverse genetic tools, such as RNAi, have provided valuable insights into the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying resistance, particularly in model species like Tetranychus urticae, although such understanding remains limited in many agriculturally important phytophagous mite pests. This review emphasizes the status of acaricide resistance of major phytophagous mites, shedding light on the physiological and intricate molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, while RNAi represents a promising research tool for studying gene function and resistance mechanisms in mites, its practical application in overcoming acaricide resistance remains in the experimental phase due to delivery challenges and species-specific variability in response.
