Efficacy of malathion seed treatments for chironomid control in aerially‐sown rice crops

Abstract

Malathion seed treatments were evaluated as a means of protecting aerially‐sown rice from attack by Chironomus tepperi Skuse and other chironomids in New South Wales, Australia. Four treatments were examined: malathion applied to seed at 150, 300, and 450 ga.i/ha, and malathion applied directly to water at 300 ga.i./ha. Chironominae were significantly suppressed for 10 days by all treatments, but populations were often significantly above control levels at 20 and 25 days post‐treatment. None of the treatments significantly reduced other chironomids(predominantly Tanypodinae) at any stage of the trial. Emergence trap data from control and water treatment bays showed that there was, in practical terms, only a single generation of C. tepperi during crop establishment, and that malathion applied directly to water at 300 ga.i./ha almost completely eliminated adult emergence in this species. Bioassays of field‐collected water samples showed that malathion dissipates readily from seed into the water column. Toxicity profiles over time for the 150 and 300 g a.i./ha seed treatments were statistically similar to that for the 300 ga.i./ha water treatment. Although the 450 ga.i./ha seed treatment provided slightly longer residual toxicity, control was not enhanced sufficiently to justify an increase in the existing application rate of 300 ga.i./ha.

Keywords:

• Chironomidae
• Chironomus tepperi
• malathion
• rice
• seed treatments