Selective Feeding Blockers: Pymetrozine, Flonicamid, and Pyrifluquinazon

The market for compounds to treat sucking pests offers many commercial opportunities for innovative new products with novel modes of action (MoAs), high levels of biological efficacy, and low toxicity combined with high selectivity. Currently, three so-called selective feeding blockers are on the market, namely, pymetrozine, flonicamid, and pyrifluquinazon, offering attractive alternatives to current sucking pest products such as carbamates, organophosphates (OPs), synthetic pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids. The physicochemical properties of pymetrozine favor an efficient uptake and translocation in plants. Flonicamid shows a minimal tendency to persist in soil due to its fast degradation, while its moderate soil mobility is negated by its rapid metabolism and mineralization. Pyrifluquinazon shows excellent activity against a broad spectrum of hemipteran pests and some thysanopteran pests. Like pymetrozine, pyrifluquinazon has a favorable safety profile. Pyrifluquinazon is safe to beneficial insects and nontarget arthropods.