The Present and Future of Chemical Control to Manage Stink Bugs in Brazil

The intensification of agriculture and the modern cropping system including consecutive crop seasons have potentially contributed to the increase of stink bug pest species attacking soybean and maize in Brazil. Stink bug management still largely relies on the application of chemical insecticides. In the last 10 years the area treated for stink bug control in soybean and maize has increased three and five times, respectively. However, the number of chemical classes of insecticides registered for stink bug management are rather limited and most of the area is still treated with neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, organophosphates or combinations thereof. Additionally, frequent insecticide applications often ignore integrated pest management (IPM) and insecticide resistance management (IRM) principles. Thus, facilitating the evolution of insecticide resistance by treating consecutive generations by the same modes of action. It has been shown that resistance in stink bugs is on the move and compromising the effectiveness field-recommended label rates of several commercial insecticide products containing pyrethroids and neonicotinoids, both isolated and in mixtures. Such trends highlight the need to discover and development new active ingredients with new modes of action to ensure a successful and sustainable stink bug control strategy based on IPM and IRM principles.