The tarnished plant bug (TPB)
Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Hemiptera: Miridae) is a significant major pest in cotton-growing regions across the Mid-southern USA. With the eradication of the boll weevil and the adoption of Bt cotton to control lepidopteran pests, TPB infestations have increased yearly, resulting in severe damage to cotton fruiting buds [
1]. Both TPB nymphs and adults use specialized piercing-sucking stylets and digestive enzymes to feed on cotton fruiting buds (squares) and small fruit (bolls), causing fruit abscission and damage to seeds and lint [
2,
3,
4]. The prevalence of TPB adults is the highest during the pre-flowering stage of cotton, while nymphs are more commonly found during the flowering period. As a result, TPBs primarily inflict the most significant damage from the first square stage to the early flowering stages of cotton growth [
2].
The use of insecticide has been the primary method for preventing and controlling TPB in the Mid-south cotton growing area, with a variety of classes employed such as organophosphates, carbamates, neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, insect growth regulators and sulfoximine [
5,
6,
7,
8,
9]. Pyrethroids, which account for 30% of the global pesticide market, are synthetic insecticides based on natural pyrethrins found in
Chrysanthemum flowers [
10]. Over the past few decades, pyrethroids were extensively used to control agricultural crop pests and human disease vectors [
11]. However, the overuse of pyrethroids led to the development of resistance in many insect pest populations, including the TPBs [
12]. Pyrethroid resistance in TPBs collected from cotton was first reported in Mississippi in 1993 [
13,
14], likely the result of selective pressure from early season insecticide applications targeting lepidopteran pests when TPBs were present. By 1999, resistance to pyrethroids in TPB was widespread in the Mid-south region [
15,
16]. Pyrethroid resistance significantly reduced the effectiveness of chemical control and increased the cost and quantity of insecticides required to control this pest. Due to resistance development, pyrethroids are no longer recommended for TPB control in cotton in Mississippi [
17]. To combat resistance, insecticide mixtures and rotation are proposed as important tools for resistance management. Currently, several commercially formulated pyrethroid binary mixtures in combination with neonicotinoids or avermectin are listed for TPB control and resistance management in Mississippi Delta region which include: Brigadier (bifenthrin +imidacloprid), Leverage (imidacloprid + β-cyfluthrin), Endigo (thiamethoxam + λ -cyhalothrin), Athena (bifenthrin + avermectin) and the two pyrethroid mixture Hero (bifenthrin +ζ-cypermethrin) (
https://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/ publications/publications/P2471_web.pdf ). Mixing insecticides with different modes of action is more effective in resistance management programs compared to rotational strategies [
18]. Previously, mixtures consisted of a pyrethroid with carbamate [
19]; or a pyrethroid with organophosphorus [
20,
21,
22,
23]. More recently, the development of neonicotinoid insecticides with reduced toxicity to human compared to previously used organophosphates and carbamates can now provide a broad spectrum to control numerous crop-damaging insects. Pyrethroids target insect voltage-gated sodium channels [
11] and neonicotinoids act as agonists for the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR), and both classes of insecticide impact the central nervous system of insects (
Table 1) [
24]. Mixtures of neonicotinoids and pyrethroids are useful for resistance management as highly effective tools against some of the world's most destructive crop pests [
25]. Avermectin, on the other hand, allosterically activates glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCls) in insect nerve and muscle cells, causing cell hyperpolarization, eventually resulting in insect paralysis and death [
26]. Pyrethroids can also be mixed with avermectin and applied for insect pest control. Insecticide mixtures afford two key advantages: targeting a broad spectrum of pest species and managing pesticide resistance.
Insecticide resistance research in the past predominantly focused on individual insecticides. Testing on commercialized formulated mixtures is not well studied, especially in resistant TPB populations. Here, we conducted a comprehensive investigation using two resistant field TPB populations collected in July and October, respectively, from wild-host plants in Coahoma County, a cotton growing area in the northern Mississippi Delta region, USA. We conducted dose-response bioassays of four formulated pyrethroid-containing binary mixtures using a modified Potter spray tower. Additionally, we analyzed the potential interaction between the two individual components in the four binary mixtures on susceptible and two resistant TPB populations. Our findings provide valuable information for selecting the most effective mixtures to achieve better TPB control. By understanding the interactions between the individual components in the binary mixtures, we can optimize their use and develop targeted resistance management strategies.