Selection for resistance to acetamiprid and various other insecticides in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lep., Plutellidae)

Abstract

A diamondback moth (DBM) colony (KOBII) originally collected from cabbage fields of Iwaoka-cho in Kobe City, Japan, where acetamiprid is the primary insecticide for DBM control was selected for studies on resistance to acetamiprid, phenthoate, esfenvalerate and cartap, using the leaf-dipping method. Resistance to acetamiprid was slow to develop in KOBII compared with the other insecticides. Three selection experiments each with phenthoate and esfenvalerate yielded a resistance ratio (RR) of 140 and 222, respectively, in the selected strains compared with a part of KOBII that was not exposed to any insecticide (KOBII-NS). Three selection experiments with cartap also gave an RR of 15. However, six selection experiments with acetamiprid yielded an RR of just 9.5 in the selected strain. When cross-resistance to acetamiprid was evaluated, the cartap-resistant strain showed a moderate level of cross-resistance to acetamiprid. In the case of the phenthoate-resistant strain, a very low cross-resistance to acetamiprid was observed. There was however no discernible cross-resistance to acetamiprid in the esfenvalerate-resistant strain.