Cyantraniliprole seed treatment efficiency against Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and residue concentrations in corn plants and soil

BACKGROUND The black cutworm Agrotis ipsilon is the most destructive early season insect pest of corn. In this study, the control efficiency of cyantraniliprole seed treatment against A. ipsilon was evaluated, and the residual concentrations of cyantraniliprole and its metabolite J9Z38 in the stalks of corn seedlings and soil were investigated. RESULTS Plant pot experiments showed that A. ipsilon larval mortality was greater than 92% and that the percentage of corn seedlings damaged by A. ipsilon was less than 24% when corn seeds were treated with cyantraniliprole at 2 and 4 g AI kg(-1) seed. Cyantraniliprole seed treatment at a dosage of 2 g AI kg(-1) seed significantly reduced A. ipsilon infestation compared to chlorantraniliprole and clothianidin seed treatments in corn fields. Cyantraniliprole seed treatment resulted in more persistent control efficiency of A. ipsilon in spring than in summer. Cyantraniliprole and J9Z38 residues in corn stalks and soil degraded more slowly in the spring than in the summer. CONCLUSION Cyantraniliprole used as a seed treatment can protect corn plants from A. ipsilon infestations throughout the seedling stage. The high biological activity of cyantraniliprole was consistent with the residue levels of cyantraniliprole in the corn stalks and soil. (c) 2018 Society of Chemical Industry