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Pesticide Information Profiles

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IMIDACLOPRID


TRADE OR OTHER NAMES: Imidacloprid is found in a variety of commercial insecticides. The products Admire, Condifor, Gaucho, Premier, Premise, Provado, and Marathon all contain imidacloprid as the active ingredient (223).

REGULATORY STATUS: Imidacloprid is a General Use Pesticide, and is classified by EPA as both a toxicity class II and class III agent, and must be labeled with the signal word "Warning" or "Caution" (223). There are tolerances for residues of imidacloprid and its metabolites on food/feed additives ranging from 0.02 ppm in eggs, to 3.0 ppm in hops (328).

INTRODUCTION: Imidacloprid is a systemic, chloro-nicotinyl insecticide with soil, seed and foliar uses for the control of sucking insects including rice hoppers, aphids, thrips, whiteflies, termites, turf insects, soil insects and some beetles. It is most commonly used on rice, cereal, maize, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, fruit, cotton, hops and turf, and is especially systemic when used as a seed or soil treatment. The chemical works by interfering with the transmission of stimuli in the insect nervous system. Specifically, it causes a blockage in a type of neuronal pathway (nicotinergic) that is more abundant in insects than in warm-blooded animals (making the chemical selectively more toxic to insects than warm-blooded animals). This blockage leads to the accumulation of acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter, resulting in the insect's paralysis, and eventually death. It is effective on contact and via stomach action (1).

Imidacloprid based insecticide formu-lations are available as dustable powder, granular, seed dressing (flowable slurry concentrate), soluble concentrate, suspension concentrate, and wettable powder (223). Typical application rates range from 0.05 - 0.125 pounds/acre. These application rates are considerably lower than older, traditionally used insecticides. It can be phytotoxic if it is not used according to manufacturer's specifications, and has been shown to be compatible with fungicides when used as a seed treatment to control insect pests (329).

TOXICOLOGICAL EFFECTS

ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS

ENVIRONMENTAL FATE

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND GUIDELINES

Physical Properties:

Exposure Guidelines:

BASIC MANUFACTURER

Bayer Agricultural Products
P. O. Box 4913
Kansas City, MO 64120

REFERENCES

References for the information in this PIP can be found in Reference List Number 10


DISCLAIMER: The information in this profile does not in any way replace or supersede the information on the pesticide product label/ing or other regulatory requirements. Please refer to the pesticide product label/ing.