The economic importance of acaricides in the control of phytophagous mites and an update on recent acaricide mode of action research

• Published in: Pesticide biochemistry and physiology Vol. 121; pp. 12 - 21
• Main Authors: Van Leeuwen, Thomas, Tirry, Luc, Yamamoto, Atsushi, Nauen, Ralf, Dermauw, Wannes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.06.2015
• Subjects: Acaricide market; Acaricides - economics; Acaricides - pharmacology; acetyl-CoA carboxylase; Animals; Araneae; bifenazate; Brevipalpus; case studies; chitin synthase; Citrus; clofentezine; corn; cotton; crops; Crops, Agricultural - economics; Cyenopyrafen; Cyflumetofen; Economic damage; Economics; etoxazole; fruits; hexythiazox; markets; mechanism of action; Mites - drug effects; Mites - metabolism; Panonychus citri; Panonychus ulmi; phytophagous mites; Pyflubumide; resistance management; soybeans; Target-site; Tarsonemidae; Tetranychus urticae; ubiquinol-cytochrome-c reductase; vegetables; Vitaceae; Vitis; Cyflumetofen; Target-site; Cyenopyrafen; Economic damage; Acaricide market; Pyflubumide
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2014.12.009
• ISSN: 0048-3575; 1095-9939

•The global acaricide market was worth 900 million € in 2013.•Tetranychus spp. and Panonychus spp. are the main targets (80% of the market).•Resistance development and novel mode of action determine acaricide use.•ACC, complex II and complex III are the targets of recently developed acaricides. Acaricides are one of the cornerstones of an efficient control program for phytophagous mites. An analysis of the global acaricide market reveals that spider mites such as Tetranychus urticae, Panonychus citri and Panonychus ulmi are by far the most economically important species, representing more than 80% of the market. Other relevant mite groups are false spider mites (mainly Brevipalpus), rust and gall mites and tarsonemid mites. Acaricides are most frequently used in vegetables and fruits (74% of the market), including grape vines and citrus. However, their use is increasing in major crops where spider mites are becoming more important, such as soybean, cotton and corn. As revealed by a detailed case study of the Japanese market, major shifts in acaricide use are partially driven by resistance development and the commercial availability of compounds with novel mode of action. The importance of the latter cannot be underestimated, although some compounds are successfully used for more than 30 years. A review of recent developments in mode of action research is presented, as such knowledge is important for devising resistance management programs. This includes spirocyclic keto-enols as inhibitors of acetyl-CoA carboxylase, the carbazate bifenazate as a mitochondrial complex III inhibitor, a novel class of complex II inhibitors, and the mite growth inhibitors hexythiazox, clofentezine and etoxazole that interact with chitin synthase I.