Efficacy of an adhesive nanopesticide on insect pests of rice in field trials

Abstract Nanopesticides with antiwashing capacity on leaves are the most promising new approaches for sustainable pest management and have been fully evaluated in the laboratory. However, few studies have tested these nanopesticides on pests, and their efficacy under field conditions has not been investigated. In this study, an adhesive hollow mesoporous silica hybrid with well-defined spherical shape and good monodispersity was used as a nanocarrier of cyantraniliprole (CNAP) to fabricate an adhesive nanopesticide (CNAP-HMS-PDAAM). The control efficacy of CNAP-HMS-PDAAM was tested under field conditions. The results indicated that the efficacy of four doses of CNAP-HMS-PDAAM (30.0-69.0 g a.i./ha) against Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenee) 3, 7, and 14 days after spraying did not significantly differ from that of Benevia (34.5 g a.i./ha). Twenty-eight days after spraying, the efficacy of all four doses of CNAP-HMS-PDAAM was significantly better than that of Benevia. Additionally, the efficacy of CNAP-HMS-PDAAM at doses of 34.5, 39.0 and 69.0 g a.i./ha against Chilo suppressalis (Walker) were significantly higher than that of Benevia (34.5 g a.i./ha). Thus, CNAP-HMS-PDAAM showed long-term control efficacies against C. medinalis (Guenee) and C. suppressalis (Walker), mainly due to its strong adhesive property on rice leaves and its sustained release properties. In addition, the nanocarriers showed good biocompatibility and had no obvious influence on the growth of rice.