Current status of pesticide registration for wheat aphids in China: Neonicotinoids and pyrethroid products account for as much as 82.5%.

Wheat is one of China’s three major grain crops, and its safe production is directly linked to national food security and social stability. Wheat aphids are a major pest threatening wheat production in China and have been listed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs as a Class I agricultural pest. Throughout its entire developmental cycle, wheat is susceptible to aphid infestation; in typical years, aphid damage reduces yields by 5.1% to 16.5%, while in severe outbreaks, losses can exceed 40%. Moreover, aphids compromise grain quality and transmit plant viruses. At present, chemical control remains the cornerstone of aphid management in wheat, owing to its high efficacy and convenience.

The following section provides a systematic analysis of pesticides registered for wheat aphids as of August 15, 2025, offering critical support for the rational registration and scientific application of control agents in wheat fields.

1. Overview of Wheat Aphid Registration

1.1 Product Quantity Analysis

As of August 15, 2025, according to data from the China Pesticide Information Network, a search conducted using wheat as the crop or site, aphids (including wheat aphids) as the target pest, and insecticides as the pesticide category yields a total of 1,054 products that are registered for controlling wheat aphids (including wheat aphids) and remain within their validity period. Among these, 925 are insecticides, 126 are insecticide–fungicide formulations (including insecticide–fungicide and fungicide–insecticide combinations), and 3 are insecticide–acaricide mixtures. Single‑ingredient products number 638, accounting for 60.5% of the total registered products, while formulated mixtures total 416, representing 39.5% of the overall registration—of which 335 are binary mixtures and 81 are ternary mixtures.

1.2 Dosage Form Analysis

China currently has 134 registered pesticide formulations, with 25 distinct formulation types approved for use against wheat aphids. Six formulation types account for more than 50 (inclusive) registered products, totaling 920 formulations—87.3% of the overall registration count. These include: emulsifiable concentrates (294 formulations, 27.9%); suspension concentrates (216 formulations, 20.5%); wettable powders (198 formulations, 18.8%); seed‑treatment suspension concentrates (95 formulations, 9.0%); suspension seed coatings (67 formulations, 6.4%); and water‑dispersible granules (50 formulations, 4.7%). Four formulation types have between 10 and 50 registered products: emulsion‑in‑water formulations (28 formulations, 2.7% of the total); microcapsule suspension–suspension concentrates and microemulsions, each with 21 formulations (2.0% each); and dispersible oil suspension concentrates (12 formulations, 1.1%). Fifteen formulation types have fewer than 10 registered products, including granules, soluble solutions, microcapsule suspensions, seed‑treatment dispersible powders, soluble powders, ultra‑low‑volume liquids, suspension emulsions, slow‑release granules, aqueous solutions, seed‑treatment microcapsule suspensions, seed‑treatment microcapsule–suspension concentrates, slow‑release granule formulations, dispersible liquid formulations, soluble granule formulations, and effervescent tablets (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Registered pesticide formulations for wheat aphids in China

1.3 Toxicity Analysis

Among the registered pesticide products for controlling wheat aphids, 738 are low‑toxicity, accounting for 70.0%; 44 are slightly toxic, representing 4.2%; and 272 are moderately toxic, making up 25.8%. The majority of registered products are low‑toxicity or slightly toxic, with no highly toxic products (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Toxicity of Pesticide-Registered Products for Wheat Aphids in China

1.4 Active Ingredient Analysis

1.4.1 Organophosphorus Compounds

This category of pesticides includes seven active ingredients—dichlorvos, malathion, phoxim, and others—with 161 registered products, accounting for 15.3% of all registered products for wheat aphids. Among these, 82 are single‑ingredient formulations and 79 are mixtures; the mixtures encompass 23 distinct formulations (with identical active ingredients counted as a single formulation, the same applies hereafter). The most heavily represented active ingredient is dichlorvos, with 55 single‑ingredient products and 4 mixture products. The largest number of registered mixtures—30—contain phoxim as an active ingredient (Table 1).

Table 1 Active Ingredients of Registered Pesticides for Wheat Aphids

Note: Thiamethoxam–chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos–thiamethoxam, and chlorpyrifos–thiamethoxam have the same active ingredients; difenoconazole–thiamethoxam and benzoic acid–thiamethoxam share the same active ingredients; bifenthrin–thiamethoxam and bifenthrin–thiamethoxam have identical active ingredients; bifenthrin–dinotefuran and bifenthrin–dinotefuran contain the same active ingredients; chlorfluazuron–dinotefuran and lambda‑cyhalothrin–dinotefuran have the same active ingredients; chlorfluazuron–thiamethoxam and chlorpyrifos–thiamethoxam also share the same active ingredients.

1.4.2 Neonicotinoids

This category of pesticides includes eight active ingredients—such as imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin—and 717 registered products, accounting for 68.0% of all registered insecticides for wheat aphids. Among these, 379 are single‑ingredient formulations and 338 are mixtures, with 63 distinct formulation types. The active ingredient with the largest number of single‑ingredient registrations is imidacloprid, with 244 entries, while thiamethoxam leads among mixture registrations, with 150 entries (Table 1).

1.4.3 Pyrethroids

This category of pesticides includes 10 active ingredients—such as lambda‑cyhalothrin, bifenthrin, and fenvalerate—and 389 registered products, accounting for 36.9% of all registered insecticides for wheat aphids. Among these, 120 are single‑ingredient formulations and 269 are mixtures, with 31 distinct formulation types. The active ingredient with the largest number of single‑ingredient registrations is lambda‑cyhalothrin, with 77 entries, while bifenthrin leads among mixtures, with 111 entries (Table 1).

1.4.4 Other Categories

Other types of pesticides include six categories: sulfonylimines, pyridine carboxamides, pyridines, carbamates, bio‑based products, and mineral‑based products (Table 1). Among these, the sulfonylimine, pyridine carboxamide, and pyridine categories each have one registered active ingredient—flonicamid, flonicamid amide, and pymetrozine, respectively. The carbamate category has two registered active ingredients and 11 registered products, accounting for 1.1% of all registered insecticides for wheat aphids. The bio‑based category includes eight registered active ingredients across 16 products, representing 1.5% of all registered wheat aphid control agents; the most numerous registered product is matrine, with six formulations. All products containing abamectin as an active ingredient are formulated as mixtures, while the remaining active ingredients are used in single‑component formulations.

1.5 Analysis of Manufacturing Enterprises

At present, China has 469 enterprises producing wheat aphid control agents, including 458 domestic firms and 11 foreign‑owned companies. In nine provinces—Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Jiangxi—the number of registered enterprises exceeds 10, with a total of 908 registered products. Shandong leads in both the number of manufacturers (109) and the number of registered products (234), ranking first among all provinces (Table 2).

Table 2: Provincial Registration Status of Wheat Aphid Pesticides in China

2. Current pesticide products used to control and prevent wheat aphids have certain problems.

2.1 The high similarity in active ingredient profiles among registered products increases the risk of resistance.  

According to an analysis of the active ingredients registered for wheat aphid control, the majority of these ingredients belong to the neonicotinoid and pyrethroid classes, accounting for 82.5% of all registered active substances. Among them, commonly used compounds such as imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and lambda‑cyhalothrin dominate the market share, while formulations featuring novel modes of action—such as flonicamid and buprofezin—are relatively underrepresented in registrations. Prolonged use of insecticides with a single active ingredient has contributed to the development of resistance in aphid populations. According to the “2024 Monitoring Report on Resistance of Major Crop Pests,” published by the National Agricultural Technology Center, compared with 2023, the resistance ratios of wheat aphids (including Sitobion avenae and Rhopalosiphum padi) to imidacloprid and lambda‑cyhalothrin both increased in 2024.

2.2 The registration specifications are inconsistent, increasing the difficulty of making a selection.

There are numerous registered insecticides for wheat aphids, with a wide variety of registration specifications. This has led to situations where the same active ingredient is listed under different product names, or where different product names correspond to the same active ingredient, thereby increasing the complexity of selection. For example, products labeled as “cypermethrin–phoxim” may contain either cypermethrin and phoxim or S‑cypermethrin and phoxim; similarly, products registered under names such as “thiamethoxam–chlorfluazuron,” “chlorfluazuron–thiamethoxam,” and “chlorfluazuron–thiamethoxam” all list thiamethoxam and lambda‑cyhalothrin as their active ingredients.

2.3 The proportion of biopesticides is relatively low.

Among insecticides used to control wheat aphids, biopesticides account for less than 2.0%, and no biopesticides have been registered since 2020.

2.4 Insufficient specialized formulations for aerial application

In current wheat aphid management, aerial spraying using plant protection drones plays an irreplaceable role. Traditional formulations such as emulsifiable concentrates tend to form precipitates or crystals upon dilution, leading to nozzle clogging. Ultra‑low‑volume (ULV) formulations, with their fine droplet size, high spray coverage, and strong penetration, were among the earliest specialized formulations developed for drone‑based applications. However, among registered pesticides for wheat aphids, only three products are ULV formulations—accounting for less than 1% of the total number of registered products—far short of meeting the practical needs of agricultural production.

2.5 The formulation of insecticide–fungicide mixtures exhibits a high degree of homogeneity.

Pesticide tank‑mixing offers advantages such as multi‑purpose control with a single application, reduced numbers of sprayings, and shorter application times. For example, combining insecticides with fungicides can achieve simultaneous management of both pests and diseases. Among pesticides used to control wheat aphids, there are 125 insecticide–fungicide mixtures and 42 formulated combinations; the benzo[1,2‑c]thiazole–pyrimidine–thiamethoxam formulation accounts for the largest share, with 28 registered products—more than one‑fifth of all insecticide–fungicide mixtures—and exhibits a high degree of homogeneity.

Source: Pesticide Science and Management - CNKI