Through seed coatings and granular applications, systemic insecticides pose minimal risk of pesticide drift or worker exposure in agricultural, nurseries and urban settings. Neonicotinoids and fipronil are also preferred because they appear to be less toxic to fish and terrestrial vertebrates. Initially proposed as environmentally friendly agrochemicals, their use in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs has been questioned by recent research that shows their negative impact on predatory and parasitic agents. New formulations have been developed to optimize the bioavailability of neonicotinoids, as well as combined formulations with pyrethroids and other insecticides with the aim of broadening the insecticidal spectrum and avoid resistance by pests. Indeed, as with any other chemical used in pest control, resistance to imidacloprid by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), cotton aphids (Aphis gossypii) and other pests is rendering ineffective this and other neonicotinoids such as acetamiprid, thiacloprid and nitenpyram. This chapter (attached) examines the negative impacts that systemic insecticides have on organisms, populations and ecosystems. The efficacy of these products in controlling the target pests is assumed and not dealt with here – only the effects on non-target organisms and communities are considered.
Source:
Impact of Systemic Insecticides on Organisms and Ecosystems
By Francisco Sánchez-Bayo, Henk A. Tennekes and Koichi Goka
In:
Agricultural and Biological Sciences » "Insecticides - Development of Safer and More Effective Technologies", book edited by Stanislav Trdan, ISBN 978-953-51-0958-7, Published: January 30, 2013 under CC BY 3.0 license
The chapter has so far been accessed 2000 times (September 2014)
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