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The toxicity of insecticides to larvae of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.). II.—Maintenance of a toxic deposit in the field
- M. Gratwick, J. M. Sillibourne, R. P. Tew
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- Journal:
- Bulletin of Entomological Research / Volume 56 / Issue 2 / December 1965
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 July 2009, pp. 377-388
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The persistence, as assessed by biological and chemical methods, of field deposits on apples from two spray programmes, each of DDT, carbaryl or azinphos-methyl, was compared throughout eight weeks following the first application in an orchard in south-eastern England. Newly emerged larvae of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), were used to assess, in the laboratory, the biological activity of the deposits. The spray programmes studied were (1) two applications of conventional concentrations (i.e., 0·1 per cent, for DDT and for carbaryl, 0·04 per cent, for azinphos-methyl) three weeks apart and (2) three applications of half these concentrations at two-weekly intervals. DDT wettable powder, carbaryl and azinphos-methyl were compared in 1961, DDT emulsion, DDT wettable powder and carbaryl in 1963. Results of biological and chemical assessment of the deposits are presented graphically. Over-all, the performance of the three-application programmes was as satisfactory as that of the two-application programmes, although a smaller amount of chemical was used. The serious reduction in deposit caused by heavy rain shortly after the first application of DDT wettable powder and of carbaryl in 1961 is noted. In the absence of heavy rain, carbaryl was biologically the most persistent, but the best performances of the other chemicals were almost as good as that of carbaryl.
LD50 values of fresh deposits obtained by field spraying were shown to be similar to those obtained by laboratory dipping.
Comparison of the toxicity of fresh and weathered field deposits of similar magnitude indicated that the biologically available proportion of a DDT deposit from either formulation decreases as a result of weathering. This phenomenon was not found to occur with carbaryl and either not at all or to a much lesser extent with azinphos-methyl.
The deposits obtained in the comparison of the spray programmes were separated into their fresh and aged components, so that differences in the contribution to the final deposit provided by each application could be seen. With the very persistent DDT emulsion, only about half of the six-week deposits was composed of chemical from the final application, but, with the much less persistent carbaryl and azinphos methyl, the six-week deposits were almost entirely derived from the final application. By substitution in an equation to obtain the rates of decay of the deposits from the three-application programmes of all chemicals, it is shown that deposits from the second and third applications were, in all cases, more persistent than those from the first. Possible reasons for this difference are discussed.
The significance, in terms of field control, of the results for the larvicidal activity of the deposits from the different spray programmes is indicated. It is concluded that data on the LD90 of insecticidal deposits on apples, together with measurement of their persistence in the field, can be used to assess the probable field performance of codling-moth insecticides and to determine the most efficient means of employing them, although the deposit level that ensures 90 per cent, larval mortality in the field is higher than the LD90 determined in the laboratory.
Control of ground beetles (Col., Carabidae) attacking strawberry fruits
- J. B. Briggs, R. P. Tew
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- Journal:
- Bulletin of Entomological Research / Volume 54 / Issue 1 / May 1963
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 July 2009, pp. 83-92
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Experiments in south-east England are described in which insecticides were tested against the Carabid beetles Harpahis rufipcs (Deg.) and Feronia melanaria(111.), which cause damage to strawberry fruits.
In preliminary screening tests, the mortality of H. rufipex was low when adults were caged with fruits or straw treated with rotenone at 0·004 per cent, or with carbaryl, DDT, dimethoate, malathion, mevinphos, nicotine, TEPP, toxaphene and trichlorphon at one or more concentrations in the range 0–06–0–2 per cent. In small-scale field trials, γ BHC at 0·026 per cent, gave poor results but chlordane and dieldrin exhibited persistent toxicity.
In further tests with fruits, field-weathered deposits from sprays containing 0·1 or 0·2 per cent, dieldrin caused over 90 per cent, mortality for 7 and 21 days, respectively, but left residues at harvest of 0·5 p.p.m., which were considered too high for consumer safety.
Dieldrin applied to soil at 5 lb. per acre resulted in 100 per cent, mortality for 28 days in 1957, but gave very variable results in 1958. Conversely, aldrin at 5 lb. gave effective mortality for only 14 days in 1957 but for the maximum test period of 89 days in 1958; no satisfactory explanation was found for the seasonal differences. Aldrin at 10 lb. per acre gave 100 per cent, mortality for 77 and 89 days, respectively, in the two years. Tests of soils into which measured quantities of insecticide had been incorporated, resulted in 100 per cent, mortality, after 4 days' exposure, with aldrin and dieldrin at levels of 2–4 and 16–32 p.p.m., respectively; endrin at 64 p.p.m. was only slightly toxic.
In field trials in 1959–60, application of aldrin at 10 lb. per acre to the surface of the soil around the plants in sprays in late April immediately before flowering, or at 5 lb. per acre in late May before laying straw below the fruit, reduced fruit damage due to H. rufipes or F. melanaria by 66–94 per cent. Residues at harvest were of the order of 0·03 p.p.m., and no effect on flavour was detected in processed fruit from plots treated at either time of application.
The toxicity of insecticides to larvae of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.). I.—Intrinsic toxicity and persistence
- M. Gratwick, J. M. Sillibourne, R. P. Tew
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- Journal:
- Bulletin of Entomological Research / Volume 56 / Issue 2 / December 1965
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 July 2009, pp. 367-376
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- Article
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The deposits found on apples at various times after application of 11 insecticides were determined by chemical analysis of samples from an orchard in south-eastern England sprayed in 1959 and 1960. The results, from samples taken simultaneously, of studies of the effectiveness of these and other chemicals for control of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), have already been reported.
The period in which 50 per cent, of an initial deposit disappeared in the field (half-life) was calculated from the chemical data and used as a measure of persistence. For comparisons of intrinsic toxicity, the levels of fresh deposits causing 50 per cent, mortality of newly emerged codling-moth larvae (LD50) were determined in the laboratory by chemical and biological tests on apples dipped in a range of concentrations of commercial formulations. The LD50's, in μg./cm.2, were less than 0·025 for carbophenothion, parathion and diazinon, between 0·025 and 0·05 for azinphos-methyl and -ethyl, between 0·05 and 0·10 for malathion, DDT and carbaryl, between 0·1 and 0·5 for DDD and dimethoate, between 0·5 and 1·5 for lead arsenate and above 1·5 for phenkapton.
Chemicals with an LD50 exceeding about 0·1 μg./cm.2 were considered not worth further investigation as codling-moth larvicides. The LD90's of the remainder were found and were taken as the minimum deposits that would have an adequate effect from the standpoint of control (minimum effective levels). From the half-life values, the periods for which the deposits found in the orchard in 1960 should have remained above the minimum effective levels were calculated; these were 24 days for DDT emulsion, 22 for DDT wettable powder, 15 for carbophenothion, 14 for carbaryl, 12 for azinphos-ethyl, 11 for parathion, 7 for malathion and 6 for diazinon. They were in good agreement with the results of the biological tests except in the case of DDT emulsion, the effectiveness of which was unexpectedly short-lived.