Efficacy of thiamethoxam and fipronil, applied alone and in combination, to control Limonius californicus and Hypnoidus bicolor (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

Abstract

Background: Wireworms, the larval stage of click beetles (family Elateridae), are significant soil pests of wheat and barley crops in the Pacific Northwest. At present, few pest management alternatives exist. For several decades, wireworms were effectively controlled by first-generation insecticides applied to the soil or as seed treatments. Currently used neonicotinoid insecticides protect crop seeds and germinating seedlings by temporary toxicity but limited mortality. As a result, field populations may increase, reaching levels too high for crop protection. In this study an investigation was made of the combination of two insecticides to achieve crop protection as well as insect mortality in wheat fields.

Results: Laboratory bioassays using wheat seed treated with fipronil at 1.0 and 5.0 g AI 100 kg(-1) seed resulted in 72-90% mortality of two wireworm species, Limonius californicus and Hypnoidus bicolor. At a rate of 39 g AI 100 kg(-1) seed, 8 times higher than the high rate of fipronil, thiamethoxam caused only 10-31% larval mortality in the bioassays, but did protect developing wheat stands from damage in field trials. Field plots planted with wheat seed treated with both fipronil (5.0 g AI 100 kg(-1) seed) and thiamethoxam (39.0 g AI 100 kg(-1) seed) had 83% fewer wireworms the following year compared with untreated check plots. No reduction in population was observed in plots treated with 39.0 g of thiamethoxam alone.

Conclusions: Fipronil and thiamethoxam can be combined as a seed treatment to protect wheat crops from wireworm damage and reduce larval populations in the field.

Keywords: insecticide interactions; neonicotinoids; synergism; wheat.