Effects of clothianidin‐treated seed on the arthropod community in a mid‐Atlantic no‐till corn agroecosystem

Effects of clothianidin‐treated seed on the arthropod community in a mid‐Atlantic no‐till corn agroecosystem

BACKGROUND Nearly all corn seed in the US is coated with neonicotinoid insecticides to protect against soil and foliar arthropod pests. Exposure in the soil and the systemic activity in the plant can pose non‐target risks. We assessed the community‐level effects of clothianidin‐treated seed on the d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pest management science Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 969 - 978
Main Authors: Disque, Heather H, Hamby, Kelly A, Dubey, Aditi, Taylor, Christopher, Dively, Galen P
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-04-2019
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Subjects:
Abundance
Adults
Agricultural ecosystems
Arthropods
Beetles
clothianidin
Communities
community responses
Corn
Economic conditions
Foliage
Herbivores
Insecticides
Larvae
no till corn system
non‐target effects
Organic chemistry
Pests
Pirate
seed treatment
Seed treatments
non-target effects
clothianidin
no till corn system
community responses
seed treatment
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Summary:BACKGROUND Nearly all corn seed in the US is coated with neonicotinoid insecticides to protect against soil and foliar arthropod pests. Exposure in the soil and the systemic activity in the plant can pose non‐target risks. We assessed the community‐level effects of clothianidin‐treated seed on the diversity and abundance of arthropod communities in a no‐till corn agroecosystem over a single growing season. RESULTS Epigeal and foliage‐dwelling communities were disturbed by the clothianidin seed treatment, with significant negative and positive changes in taxa abundances. Clothianidin reduced the abundance of minute pirate bugs by 66.2%, lady beetles by 44.7%, ants by 43.4%, ground beetle adults and larvae by 31.7%, and rove beetles by 44.1% during the early corn growth stages. Herbivores, particularly thrips, were more negatively affected by clothianidin than other trophic groups. In contrast, some groups, such as collembolans and leafhoppers, exhibited significantly higher abundances in the seed treated plots. CONCLUSION Clothianidin primarily influenced arthropod communities during the 4 weeks following planting, with disruptions to major natural enemy taxa, but communities showed trends toward recovery at the later corn stages. While the insecticide suppressed multiple herbivores, none were economically damaging to corn; thus, the pest suppression benefits of clothianidin observed in this study did not justify the non‐target impacts. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry Four sampling methods used to assess the effects of clothianidin‐treated seed on arthropod communities in a no‐till corn agroecosystem.
ISSN:1526-498X
1526-4998
DOI:10.1002/ps.5201