Comparison between sustained effects of spray and injection thiamethoxam on apple aphids and non-target insects in apple orchard.

Spray application is considered to be the most common method of insecticide use in apple orchard, while trunk injection has often be used in labor-intensive areas. Here, a comparison of both methods in aphid control efficiency and non-target effects was conducted. We evaluated the effects of thiamethoxam by either spray or injection on apple aphid Aphis citricola, and examined the temporal dynamic of thiamethoxam in leaves by using residue analysis. Results showed that thiamethoxam had a remarkable suppression effect on Aphis citricola, and both application methods had obvious control efficiency with the highest value above 90%. The control effect of spray method on Aphis citricola reached the maximum at 7 days after application, while that of injection method reached the maximum at 14 days after application. Moreover, the control effect of injection after 14 days and that of spray after 7 days were not significant, suggesting the spray method had a higher quick-acting effect than the injection method, and the two methods had a similar persistence effect. The population dynamics of non-target insects (ladybugs, parasitoid wasps and predatory bugs) showed basically the same as that of blank controlled. The control effect evaluation of thiamethoxam on Aphis citricola suggest that injection treatment was more effective in protecting natural enemies than spray treatment, and thiamethoxam didn't interfere with natural enemies to control Aphis citricola with both two application methods.

Neonicotinoid insecticide residues in subsurface drainage and open ditch water around maize fields in southwestern Ontario.

Neonicotinoids are widely used class of insecticides. Most are seed treatments and during planting active ingredient may be abraded and lost in fugitive dust. Much of this active ingredient contaminates surface waters, exposing aquatic organism to potential ill effects. This study examines concentrations of neonicotinoids appearing in tile drains and open ditches around commercial maize fields around planting time where neonicotinoid seed treatments had been used. This sample set represents surface water leaving the point of origin, for which data are sparse. Clothianidin was found more often than thiamethoxam and at higher concentrations; at a median concentration of 0.35 ng/mL in tile drain water and almost twice that (0.68 ng/mL) in ditches into which the tiles are draining after applications of 19 g/ha on seed. This concentration reveals a 40 to 50 fold dilution for neonicotinoid residues between the points where they leave the field in which they were applied and when they are found in nearby streams in a similar ecosystem. Our data support that for a no-observed-effect concentration of 0.3 ng/mL for thiamethoxam there would be between a 1.6 and 100-fold margin of safety to mayflies in most streams if fugitive dust on pneumatic planters were properly mitigated.

Revealing the biodiversity and the response of pathogen to a combined use of procymidone and thiamethoxam in tomatoes.

The dissipation kinetics of a combined use of procymidone and thiamethoxam, and their impact on the biodiversity and pathogen on surface of tomatoes were studied. The half-lives of procymidone and thiamethoxam, used either on their own or in combination with each other, were 2.94 or 3.26 days and 2.41 or 2.67 days, respectively. The residues dropped below the maximum residue limit (MRL) after 7 or 10 days (MRL 2 mg·kg-1 for procymidone), and 10 or 14 days (MRL 0.2 mg·kg-1 for thiamethoxam), respectively. The phylum Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, and Proteobacteria, were dominantly present in all studied samples. The genus Escherichia-Shigella was found and exposed to the dissipation of procymidone (r = -0.9209 for procymidone on its own, and r = -0.8611 for procymidone in combination with thiamethoxam). These results will contribute to establish adequate monitoring of pesticides residues and their incorporation in surface ecology and pathogen management strategies in tomatoes.

Thiamethoxam: Long-term effects following honey bee colony-level exposure and implications for risk assessment.

Neonicotinoid insecticides have been used in a wide range of crops through seed treatment, soil and foliar applications and a large database exists on both their lethal and sub-lethal effects on honey bees under controlled laboratory conditions. However, colony-level studies on the effects of neonicotinoids in field studies are limited, primarily due to their complexity and the resources required. This paper reports the combined results of two large-scale colony-feeding studies, each with 6 weeks of continuous dosing of 12 colonies per treatment (24 control) to 12.5, 25, 37.5, 50 or 100 ng thiamethoxam/g sucrose solution. Exposure continued beyond dosing with residues present in stored nectar and bee-bread. The studies were conducted in an area with limited alternative forage and colonies were required to forage for pollen and additional nectar The studies provide colony-level endpoints: significant effects (reductions in bees, brood) were observed after exposure to the two highest dose rates, colony loss occurred at the highest dose rate, but colonies were able to recover (2-3 brood cycles after the end of dosing) after dosing with 50 ng thiamethoxam/g sucrose. No significant colony-level effects were observed at lower dose rates. The data reported here support the conclusions of previous colony-level crop-based field studies with thiamethoxam, in which residues in pollen and nectar were an order of magnitude below the colony-level NOEC of 37.5 ng thiamethoxam/g sucrose. The feeding study data are also compared to the outcomes of regulatory Tier 1 risk assessments conducted using guidance provided by the USA, Canada, Brazil and the EU regulatory authorities. We propose an adaptation of the European chronic adult bee risk assessment that takes into account the full dataset generated in laboratory studies while still providing an order of magnitude of safety compared with the colony feeding study NOEC.

Avaliação do efeito de inseticidas sobre a joaninha Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Meneville (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) em algodoeiro / Evaluation of the effect of insecticides on lady beetles Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Meneville (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in cotton plant

A associação dos métodos químico e biológico no controle de pragas é fundamental na sustentabilidade do sistema agrícola, auxiliando a redução de químicos derivados de petróleo. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de inseticidas sobre o coccinelídeo predador Hippodamia convergens, na cultura do algodoeiro, em condições de laboratório e de campo. Foram estabelecidos os seguintes tratamentos, expressos em g ou mL de p.c. do inseticida por hectare: flonicamida a 50, 80 e 150 g, tiametoxam a 200 g, acetamiprido a 150 g, imidacloprido a 250 mL e testemunha sem aplicação. A avaliação do efeito dos inseticidas aplicados diretamente e indiretamente (efeito de contato em resíduo seco do inseticida) sobre H. convergens, foi realizada por meio da quantificação de insetos sobreviventes após a aplicação. Com base nos resultados dos experimentos, pode-se concluir que dentre os inseticidas avaliados, flonicamida ocasionou a menor mortalidade de H. convergens. Os inseticidas tiametoxam, acetamiprido e imidacloprido apresentaram comportamento semelhante, acarretando alta mortalidade de H. convergens.

The combination of chemical and biological methods to control pests is essential to ensure the sustainability of agricultural system, to reduce using of chemicals products. The objective this work was to evaluate the effects of insecticides on the coccinellid predatory Hyppodamia convergens, the cotton plant, in conditions laboratory and field. Were the following treatments established, expressed in g or mL of active ingredient of insecticide per hectare: flonicamid to 50, 80 and 150 g, thiamethoxam at 200 g to 150 g acetamiprid, imidacloprid to 250 mL and control without application. The evaluation effect of insecticides applied directly and indirectly (residual effects on leaves) on H. convergens, was performed by quantification of insects survived to 7 days after application. Based on the results of experiments, we can conclude that among the insecticides evaluated, flonicamid caused the lower mortality of H. convergens. The insecticides thiamethoxam, acetamiprid and imidacloprid showed similar behavior, causing high mortality of H. convergens.