Ja. Wiles et Pc. Jepson, DOSAGE REDUCTION TO IMPROVE THE SELECTIVITY OF DELTAMETHRIN BETWEEN APHIDS AND COCCINELLIDS IN CEREALS, Entomologia experimentalis et applicata, 76(1), 1995, pp. 83-96
The toxicity of the pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin to a cereal ap
hid and a coccinellid beetle predator was assessed. Deltamethrin gave
effective aphid control in winter wheat at dose-rates of 6.25, 3.13 an
d 1.56 g a.i./ha. The direct exposure of adult Coccinella septempuncta
ta L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to spray drops was estimated at a ra
nge of positions in a cereal crop canopy from volumetric analysis of f
luorescent tracer deposits. These measurements were used to calculate
exposure to deltamethrin at the three experimental dose-rates. Observa
tions of coccinellid beetle distribution through a cereal crop canopy
permitted a realistic range of direct contact doses to be calculated a
nd the toxic effects of these levels of exposure to be predicted from
laboratory dose-response data. Estimated beetle mortalities from direc
t exposure were 19, 8 and 3% at the three experimental dose-rates. In
situ bioassays with adult C. septempunctata which exposed beetles cont
inuously to deltamethrin residues on flag leaves, resulted in 100, 94
and 39% mortality respectively at these dose-rates during the 10 days
after spray application. Additional in situ bioassays exposed beetles
to deltamethrin residues on flag leaves for 24 h and then transferred
surviving beetles to the soil under the cereal crop canopy for a furth
er 9 days. This resulted in 89, 69 and 29% beetle mortality respective
ly at the three dose-rates. Mortality predictions combining both direc
t contact and residual exposure were made for the three dose-rates to
determine the maximum impact of summer sprays of deltamethrin on adult
coccinellid populations in cereals. These worst case predictions sugg
ested that a reduction in dose-rate by as much as three quarters of th
e recommended application rate in UK cereals may be necessary to prese
rve approximately 60% of adult C. septempunctata in the crop over the
10 days after a deltamethrin spray application. The methodology descri
bed may be appropriate for estimating selective dose-rates for key ene
mies in a range of crops.