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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #330526
Research Project: Productive Cropping Systems Based on Ecological Principles of Pest Management

Location: Integrated Cropping Systems Research

Title: Review of crop pests targeted by neonicotinoid seed treatments

Author
item Schneider, Sharon
item Sappington, Thomas
item Hesler, Louis
item Allen, Clint
item Luttrell, Randall

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/11/2016
Publication Date: 8/17/2016
Citation: Papiernik, S.K., Sappington, T.W., Hesler, L.S., Allen, K.C., Luttrell, R.G. 2016. Review of crop pests targeted by neonicotinoid seed treatments. [abstract] American Chemical Society National Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, August 21-25, 2016. Abstract 2510798.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Seed treatment with neonicotinoid insecticides is an increasingly popular crop protection practice, intended to reduce damage due to early season pests. A large proportion of major U.S. crops are planted with neonicotinoid-treated seed. Use of the three most popular neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin) now exceeds 1.5 M pounds per year per compound in the U.S. Studies evaluating the usefulness of neonicotinoid seed treatments in reducing pest pressures and increasing crop yields suggest that response varies by growing conditions, pest populations, and other factors. Because it is not fully understood when and where seed treatments will be most effective, we reviewed the distribution, ecology, and historical management of target pests in U.S. production of corn, soybean, cotton, and wheat. We summarized the life history, typical damage, historical threat and management, and risk factors associated with crop pests targeted by neonicotinoid seed treatments. This presentation will discuss a selection of the reviewed target pests, which include for corn: wireworms, white grubs, seedcorn maggot, seedcorn beetles, black cutworm, flea beetle, the rootworm complex, thrips, billbugs, stink bugs, sugarcane beetle, chinch bug, and aphids; for soybean: bean leaf beetle, soybean aphid, white grub, wireworms, seed maggots, threecornered alfalfa hoppers, pea weevil, Mexican bean beetle, grape colaspis, potato leafhopper, and thrips; for cotton: wireworms, seedcorn maggot, cutworms, aphids, plant bugs, fleahoppers, and stink bugs; and for wheat: cereal aphids, wireworms, and Hessian fly. This information provides a backdrop for additional research to provide crucial region-and crop-specific information on pest incidence and impact on crop yield, and to assess the current state of knowledge on the utility of neonicotinoid seed treatments to crop production.