Thiamethoxam: a second-generation neonicotinoid insecticide with a broader spectrum of activity, higher efficacy, and improved safety!

Release Date:

2021-05-24

Thiamethoxam is a novel insecticide jointly developed by Bayer and Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. It represents the second generation of neonicotinoid insecticides, following imidacloprid and clothianidin. Compared with the first generation, it boasts a broader spectrum of activity, higher efficacy, improved safety, and a longer residual effect, while exhibiting significantly reduced toxicity. As a highly effective, safe, and highly selective new‑generation insecticide, it offers numerous advantages: high efficiency, broad‑spectrum control, reduced application rates, low toxicity, prolonged residual activity, no phytotoxicity to crops, ease of use, and no cross‑resistance with conventional pesticides. With both systemic and translaminar action, it serves as another promising alternative to highly toxic organophosphate pesticides.

Advantages of Thiamethoxam

(1) Broader insecticidal spectrum: Thiamethoxam exhibits contact, stomach‑poison, and systemic activity. It is widely used to control underground pests such as garlic maggots, root maggots, onion maggots, soil maggots, cutworms, and wireworms, as well as more than ten species of piercing‑sucking pests, including aphids, thrips, leafhoppers, whiteflies, tobacco whiteflies, and rice planthoppers.

(2) Long residual efficacy: Thiamethoxam is not readily leached from the soil. This results in slower degradation underground, leading to higher utilization and a longer residual effect compared with clothianidin and imidacloprid. According to experimental data, foliar applications can maintain efficacy for up to 30 days, while soil treatments can provide residual control for as long as six months.

(3) High activity: Thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid insecticide developed after imidacloprid and clothianidin. It primarily targets acetylcholine receptors in insects, exhibiting greater affinity for these receptors and higher insecticidal activity than imidacloprid. Its overall activity also surpasses that of clothianidin and imidacloprid, and it demonstrates some efficacy against chewing pests as well.

(4) Ease of use: Thiamethoxam exhibits strong systemic penetration and translocation, with primarily contact and stomach‑acting modes of action. It can be applied not only by spraying but also through seed treatment, soil application, root drenching, root dipping, and root soaking, all delivering excellent insecticidal efficacy.

(5) Excellent safety: Thiamethoxam exhibits significantly reduced toxicity to non‑target insects and is safer for crops, ensuring greater peace of mind during use. It can be applied to rice, vegetables, fruit trees, and other crops.

Scope of Prevention and Control

Thiamethoxam can be applied to more than 20 crops, including rice, wheat, maize, peanuts, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, tomato, eggplant, cucumber, potato, citrus trees, apple trees, pear trees, watermelon, goji berries, and tea plants. It is widely used to control a broad spectrum of pests, such as aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, planthoppers, and other hemipterans; mirids; the diamondback moth and other lepidopterans; as well as numerous coleopteran and dipteran species.

Instructions for Use

(1) To control underground pests such as peanut, potato, and garlic maggots, as well as grubs, apply a 48% thiamethoxam suspension seed treatment at a rate of 250–500 mL per 100 kg of seeds prior to planting. Ensure the formulation evenly coats the seed surface; this effectively prevents damage caused by garlic maggots, grubs, wireworms, and other subterranean pests. The protective effect can last for approximately six months.

(2) To control underground pests such as garlic bulb flies and leek maggots, apply a 3,000‑fold dilution of 20% thiamethoxam suspension concentrate together with irrigation water during the early larval stage. This treatment effectively eliminates these subterranean pests, with a residual efficacy lasting more than 60 days.

(3) To control piercing-sucking pests such as wheat aphids, corn thrips, and rice planthoppers, apply 20–40 mL of a 20% pymetrozine‑thiamethoxam suspension concentrate per 30 kg of water during the early stages of infestation; this provides effective protection against further damage. The residual efficacy can last up to 30 days.

(Source: Suiyang Agricultural Science)

Tags:

State Council Order: Strengthening the Supervision and Disposal of Hazardous Waste!

The joint talent‑training base of the China Pesticide Industry Association and the College of Science at China Agricultural University has been officially inaugurated!

More information

The National Agricultural Technology Center has issued guidelines on “one spray, three protections” for wheat to address the heightened risk of recurrent outbreaks of Fusarium head blight, stripe rust, and aphids.

2026-04-10

The petrochemical and chemical industries comprise more than 27,000 large-scale production enterprises—efforts to upgrade and retrofit aging facilities are being further intensified.

2026-04-06

In 2026, corn borer, cotton bollworm, and ear rot—among other corn pests and diseases—are expected to occur at a relatively severe level. The National Agricultural Technology Center has issued a control plan!

2026-04-02

Address: