Rice water weevil density-yield relationships in rice treated with chlorantraniliprole and thiamethoxam

Although growth enhancements in plants treated as seeds with neonicotinoid insecticides have been reported, few rigorous studies have been conducted on the impact of these seed treatments on crop yields. Chlorantranliprole, an anthranilic diamide, and thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid, used as seed treatments for the management of rice water weevil were assessed for their differential impacts on rice yields in small plot field experiments . To do this, natural infestations of weevil larvae were manipulated by adjusting the application rates of each insecticide, and insect densities and yields were recorded. A multisource regression analysis was conducted between yields and insect densities by using insecticidal treatment as a co variable.