Seed treatment with imidacloprid: How can it achieve long-lasting control of wheat aphids?

Release Date:

2023-10-06

Recently, the Innovative Team for Pesticide Application Risk Control and the Innovative Team for Monitoring and Controlling Pests of Food Crops at the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, jointly published a research paper titled “Insight into the Long-Lasting Control Efficacy of Neonicotinoid Imidacloprid against Wheat Aphids during the Entire Growth Period” in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. This study… It was revealed that, in the later stages of seed treatment with imidacloprid, metabolites exhibiting insecticidal activity can synergistically enhance the efficacy of the parent compound, thereby providing long-lasting control of wheat aphids.

Wheat aphids are one of the major pests in wheat production and are listed in the national “Category I List of Crop Pests and Diseases,” posing a serious threat to the safe production of wheat. In recent years, as China has progressively promoted strategies to reduce pesticide use while enhancing efficacy and improved practices for the safe application of pesticides, seed‑treatment technologies have gained widespread adoption. Among these, the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid has been extensively used for seed treatment in the field. Seed treatment with imidacloprid can effectively control wheat aphids throughout the entire growth period, but its long-term mechanism of action remains unclear.

This study systematically analyzed the temporal and spatial distribution of imidacloprid, 5‑hydroxyimidacloprid, imidacloprid olefin, and several other major metabolites in all plant organs throughout the entire growth period under seed‑treatment conditions. By integrating field‑measured data with laboratory bioassays, we for the first time elucidated the synergistic enhancement effect arising from the concurrent presence of imidacloprid and its insecticidal metabolites. Both imidacloprid and its active metabolites exhibit robust apical translocation, with their concentrations in the plant following a consistent pattern: flag leaf > mid‑stem > base of the stem. This spatial distribution effectively protects wheat’s most critical functional leaf—the flag leaf—from damage by cereal aphids. This study elucidates the underlying mechanisms by which imidacloprid seed treatment provides long-lasting control of wheat aphids, thereby providing data to support the sustainable and rational use of neonicotinoid seed treatments and the development of new pesticides.

Source: Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Editor of this issue: Liu Qin

This issue was reviewed by: Zhai Yiting

Executive Producer: Zheng Hongyan

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