*Result*: Optimizing application timing and frequency of a novel dsRNAi-based insecticide for Colorado potato beetle management.
Title:
Optimizing application timing and frequency of a novel dsRNAi-based insecticide for Colorado potato beetle management.
Authors:
Dimase M; Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Cornell AgriTech, Geneva, NY, USA.; Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Nematology, Parma Research and Extension Center, University of Idaho, Parma, ID, USA., Bradford BZ; Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Weissner M; Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Buzza A; Aroostook Research Farm, The University of Maine, Presque Isle, ME, USA., Manley B; GreenLight Biosciences, Research Triangle Park, Research Triangle, NC, USA., Alyokhin A; School of Biology and Ecology, The University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA., Groves RL; Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA., Nault BA; Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Cornell AgriTech, Geneva, NY, USA.
Source:
Pest management science [Pest Manag Sci] 2026 Feb; Vol. 82 (2), pp. 1447-1459. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Oct 22.
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: Published for SCI by Wiley Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100898744 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1526-4998 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 1526498X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Pest Manag Sci Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Original Publication: West Sussex, UK : Published for SCI by Wiley, c2000-
MeSH Terms:
References:
Hare JD, Impact of defoliation by the Colorado potato beetle on potato yields. J Econ Entomol 73:369–373 (1980).
Hare JD, Ecology and management of the Colorado potato beetle. Annu Rev Entomol 35:81–100 (1990).
Ferro DN and Lyon SM, Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) larval mortality: operative effects of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. san diego. J Econ Entomol 84:806–809 (1991).
Alyokhin A, Benkovskaya G and Udalov M, Colorado potato beetle, in Insect Pests of Potato: Global Perspectives on Biology and Management, ed. by Alyokhin A, Rondon SI and Gao Y. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp. 29–43 (2022).
Mowry TM and Sandvol LE, Survey of Colorado potato beetle insecticide resistance in Idaho. Am Potato J 72:551–558 (1995).
Alyokhin A, Baker M, Mota‐Sanchez D, Dively G and Grafius E, Colorado potato beetle resistance to insecticides. Am J Pot Res 85:395–413 (2008).
Szendrei Z, Grafius E, Byrne A and Ziegler A, Resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides in field populations of the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Pest Manag Sci 68:941–946 (2012).
Dively GP, Crossley MS, Schoville SD, Steinhauer N and Hawthorne DJ, Regional differences in gene regulation may underlie patterns of sensitivity to novel insecticides in Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Pest Manag Sci 76:4278–4285 (2020).
Scott IM, Vickruck J, Hann S, Krolikowski S, MacKinley P, Stokes‐Rees J et al., Regional differences in susceptibility to spinosyn insecticides registered for Colorado potato beetle management in Canada. Pestic Biochem Physiol 193:105459 (2023).
Kocourek F, Dolezal P, Hausvater E, Horska T, Sopko B, Sedlak P et al., Six‐year monitoring of pesticide resistance in the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) during a neonicotinoid restriction period. PLoS One 19:e0303238 (2024).
Zhu F, Xu J, Palli R, Ferguson J and Palli SR, Ingested RNA interference for managing the populations of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Pest Manag Sci 67:175–182 (2011).
Petek M, Coll A, Ferenc R, Razinger J and Gruden K, Validating the potential of double‐stranded RNA targeting Colorado potato beetle mesh gene in laboratory and field trials. Front Plant Sci 11:1250 (2020).
Pallis S, Alyokhin A, Manley B, Rodrigues TB, Buzza A, Barnes E et al., Toxicity of a novel dsRNA‐based insecticide to the Colorado potato beetle in laboratory and field trials. Pest Manag Sci 78:3836–3848 (2022).
List F, Tarone AM, Zhu‐Salzman K and Vargo EL, RNA meets toxicology: efficacy indicators from the experimental design of RNAi studies for insect pest management. Pest Manag Sci 78:3215–3225 (2022).
Halder K, Chaudhuri A, Abdin MZ, Majee M and Datta A, RNA interference for improving disease resistance in plants and its relevance in this clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats‐dominated era in terms of dsRNA‐based biopesticides. Front Plant Sci 13:885128 (2022).
Whyard S, Singh AD and Wong S, Ingested double‐stranded RNAs can act as species‐specific insecticides. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 39:824–832 (2009).
Christiaens O, Dzhambazova T, Kostov K, Arpaia S, Joga MR, Urru I et al., Literature review of baseline information on RNAi to support the environmental risk assessment of RNAi‐based GM plants. EFSA J 15:1424E (2018).
Rodrigues TB, Mishra SK, Sridharan K, Barnes ER, Alyokhin A, Tuttle R et al., First sprayable double‐stranded RNA‐based biopesticide product targets proteasome subunit beta type‐5 in Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). Front Plant Sci 12:728652 (2021).
IRAC, Mode of action classification scheme. Version 11:1–42 (2025) https://www.irac-online.org/modes-of-action/ (accessed 12 March 2025).
McClure M, Herreid J and Jabbour R, Insecticide application timing effects on alfalfa insect communities. J Econ Entomol 116:815–822 (2023).
Lai P‐C, Grundberg EA, Rusinek T and Nault BA, Evaluation of reflective mulch and insect exclusion coverings for allium leafminer (Diptera: Agromyzidae) management in allium crops. J Econ Entomol 117:259–267 (2024).
R Core Team, R: A language and environment for statistical computing (2023).
Fox J and Weisberg S, An R Companion to Applied Regression. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA (2019).
Lenth R, emmeans: Estimated Marginal Means, aka Least‐Squares Means, R package version 1.11.1 (2025).
Cooper AM, Silver K, Zhang J, Park Y and Zhu KY, Molecular mechanisms influencing efficiency of RNA interference in insects. Pest Manag Sci 75:18–28 (2019).
Pallis S, Alyokhin A, Manley B, Rodrigues TB, Barnes E and Narva K, Baseline susceptibility to a novel dsRNA‐based insecticide across US populations of Colorado potato beetle. Agri 13:2283 (2023).
Zehnder G, Encill AM and Speese J, Action thresholds based on plant defoliation for management of Colorado potato beetle (coleoptera: Cbrysomelidae) in potato. J Econ Entomol 88:155–161 (1995).
Nault BA and Kennedy GG, Limitations of using regression and mean separation analyses for describing the response of crop yield to defoliation: a case study of the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on potato. J Econ Entomol 91:7–20 (1998).
Olson ER, Dively GP and Nelson JO, Baseline susceptibility to imidacloprid and cross resistance patterns in Colorado potato beetle (coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) populations. J Econ Entomol 93:447–458 (2000).
Zhao J‐Z, Bishop BA and Grafius EJ, Inheritance and synergism of resistance to imidacloprid in the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). J Econ Entomol 93:1508–1514 (2000).
Mota‐Sanchez D, Hollingworth RM, Grafius EJ and Moyer DD, Resistance and cross‐resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides and spinosad in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Pest Manag Sci 62:30–37 (2005).
Alyokhin A, Mota‐Sanchez D, Baker M, Snyder WE, Menasha S, Whalon M et al., The red queen in a potato field: integrated pest management versus chemical dependency in Colorado potato beetle control. Pest Manag Sci 71:343–356 (2015).
Klein C, Baker M, Alyokhin A and Mota‐Sanchez D, Geographic variation in dominance of spinosad resistance in Colorado potato beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). J Econ Entomol 114:320–325 (2021).
Mishra S, Dee J, Moar W, Dufner‐Beattie J, Baum J, Dias NP et al., Selection for high levels of resistance to double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) in Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) using non‐transgenic foliar delivery. Sci Rep 11:6523 (2021).
Yan J, Nauen R, Reitz S, Alyokhin A, Zhang J, Mota‐Sanchez D et al., The new kid on the block in insect pest management: sprayable RNAi goes commercial. Sci China Life Sci 67:1766–1768 (2024).
Fu K‐Y, Guo W‐C, Lü F, Liu X and Li G‐Q, Response of the vacuolar ATPase subunit E to RNA interference and four chemical pesticides in Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say). Pestic Biochem Physiol 114:16–23 (2014).
Zhang J, Khan SA, Hasse C, Ruf S, Heckel DG and Bock R, Full crop protection from an insect pest by expression of long double‐stranded RNAs in plastids. Science 347:991–994 (2015).
Wraight SP and Ramos ME, Synergistic interaction between Beauveria bassiana‐ and Bacillus thuringiensis tenebrionis‐based biopesticides applied against field populations of Colorado potato beetle larvae. J Invertebr Pathol 90:139–150 (2005).
Göldel B, Lemic D and Bažok R, Alternatives to synthetic insecticides in the control of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) and their environmental benefits. Agriculture (Basel) 10:611 (2020).
Hare JD, Ecology and management of the Colorado potato beetle. Annu Rev Entomol 35:81–100 (1990).
Ferro DN and Lyon SM, Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) larval mortality: operative effects of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. san diego. J Econ Entomol 84:806–809 (1991).
Alyokhin A, Benkovskaya G and Udalov M, Colorado potato beetle, in Insect Pests of Potato: Global Perspectives on Biology and Management, ed. by Alyokhin A, Rondon SI and Gao Y. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp. 29–43 (2022).
Mowry TM and Sandvol LE, Survey of Colorado potato beetle insecticide resistance in Idaho. Am Potato J 72:551–558 (1995).
Alyokhin A, Baker M, Mota‐Sanchez D, Dively G and Grafius E, Colorado potato beetle resistance to insecticides. Am J Pot Res 85:395–413 (2008).
Szendrei Z, Grafius E, Byrne A and Ziegler A, Resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides in field populations of the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Pest Manag Sci 68:941–946 (2012).
Dively GP, Crossley MS, Schoville SD, Steinhauer N and Hawthorne DJ, Regional differences in gene regulation may underlie patterns of sensitivity to novel insecticides in Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Pest Manag Sci 76:4278–4285 (2020).
Scott IM, Vickruck J, Hann S, Krolikowski S, MacKinley P, Stokes‐Rees J et al., Regional differences in susceptibility to spinosyn insecticides registered for Colorado potato beetle management in Canada. Pestic Biochem Physiol 193:105459 (2023).
Kocourek F, Dolezal P, Hausvater E, Horska T, Sopko B, Sedlak P et al., Six‐year monitoring of pesticide resistance in the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) during a neonicotinoid restriction period. PLoS One 19:e0303238 (2024).
Zhu F, Xu J, Palli R, Ferguson J and Palli SR, Ingested RNA interference for managing the populations of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Pest Manag Sci 67:175–182 (2011).
Petek M, Coll A, Ferenc R, Razinger J and Gruden K, Validating the potential of double‐stranded RNA targeting Colorado potato beetle mesh gene in laboratory and field trials. Front Plant Sci 11:1250 (2020).
Pallis S, Alyokhin A, Manley B, Rodrigues TB, Buzza A, Barnes E et al., Toxicity of a novel dsRNA‐based insecticide to the Colorado potato beetle in laboratory and field trials. Pest Manag Sci 78:3836–3848 (2022).
List F, Tarone AM, Zhu‐Salzman K and Vargo EL, RNA meets toxicology: efficacy indicators from the experimental design of RNAi studies for insect pest management. Pest Manag Sci 78:3215–3225 (2022).
Halder K, Chaudhuri A, Abdin MZ, Majee M and Datta A, RNA interference for improving disease resistance in plants and its relevance in this clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats‐dominated era in terms of dsRNA‐based biopesticides. Front Plant Sci 13:885128 (2022).
Whyard S, Singh AD and Wong S, Ingested double‐stranded RNAs can act as species‐specific insecticides. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 39:824–832 (2009).
Christiaens O, Dzhambazova T, Kostov K, Arpaia S, Joga MR, Urru I et al., Literature review of baseline information on RNAi to support the environmental risk assessment of RNAi‐based GM plants. EFSA J 15:1424E (2018).
Rodrigues TB, Mishra SK, Sridharan K, Barnes ER, Alyokhin A, Tuttle R et al., First sprayable double‐stranded RNA‐based biopesticide product targets proteasome subunit beta type‐5 in Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). Front Plant Sci 12:728652 (2021).
IRAC, Mode of action classification scheme. Version 11:1–42 (2025) https://www.irac-online.org/modes-of-action/ (accessed 12 March 2025).
McClure M, Herreid J and Jabbour R, Insecticide application timing effects on alfalfa insect communities. J Econ Entomol 116:815–822 (2023).
Lai P‐C, Grundberg EA, Rusinek T and Nault BA, Evaluation of reflective mulch and insect exclusion coverings for allium leafminer (Diptera: Agromyzidae) management in allium crops. J Econ Entomol 117:259–267 (2024).
R Core Team, R: A language and environment for statistical computing (2023).
Fox J and Weisberg S, An R Companion to Applied Regression. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA (2019).
Lenth R, emmeans: Estimated Marginal Means, aka Least‐Squares Means, R package version 1.11.1 (2025).
Cooper AM, Silver K, Zhang J, Park Y and Zhu KY, Molecular mechanisms influencing efficiency of RNA interference in insects. Pest Manag Sci 75:18–28 (2019).
Pallis S, Alyokhin A, Manley B, Rodrigues TB, Barnes E and Narva K, Baseline susceptibility to a novel dsRNA‐based insecticide across US populations of Colorado potato beetle. Agri 13:2283 (2023).
Zehnder G, Encill AM and Speese J, Action thresholds based on plant defoliation for management of Colorado potato beetle (coleoptera: Cbrysomelidae) in potato. J Econ Entomol 88:155–161 (1995).
Nault BA and Kennedy GG, Limitations of using regression and mean separation analyses for describing the response of crop yield to defoliation: a case study of the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on potato. J Econ Entomol 91:7–20 (1998).
Olson ER, Dively GP and Nelson JO, Baseline susceptibility to imidacloprid and cross resistance patterns in Colorado potato beetle (coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) populations. J Econ Entomol 93:447–458 (2000).
Zhao J‐Z, Bishop BA and Grafius EJ, Inheritance and synergism of resistance to imidacloprid in the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). J Econ Entomol 93:1508–1514 (2000).
Mota‐Sanchez D, Hollingworth RM, Grafius EJ and Moyer DD, Resistance and cross‐resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides and spinosad in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Pest Manag Sci 62:30–37 (2005).
Alyokhin A, Mota‐Sanchez D, Baker M, Snyder WE, Menasha S, Whalon M et al., The red queen in a potato field: integrated pest management versus chemical dependency in Colorado potato beetle control. Pest Manag Sci 71:343–356 (2015).
Klein C, Baker M, Alyokhin A and Mota‐Sanchez D, Geographic variation in dominance of spinosad resistance in Colorado potato beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). J Econ Entomol 114:320–325 (2021).
Mishra S, Dee J, Moar W, Dufner‐Beattie J, Baum J, Dias NP et al., Selection for high levels of resistance to double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) in Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) using non‐transgenic foliar delivery. Sci Rep 11:6523 (2021).
Yan J, Nauen R, Reitz S, Alyokhin A, Zhang J, Mota‐Sanchez D et al., The new kid on the block in insect pest management: sprayable RNAi goes commercial. Sci China Life Sci 67:1766–1768 (2024).
Fu K‐Y, Guo W‐C, Lü F, Liu X and Li G‐Q, Response of the vacuolar ATPase subunit E to RNA interference and four chemical pesticides in Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say). Pestic Biochem Physiol 114:16–23 (2014).
Zhang J, Khan SA, Hasse C, Ruf S, Heckel DG and Bock R, Full crop protection from an insect pest by expression of long double‐stranded RNAs in plastids. Science 347:991–994 (2015).
Wraight SP and Ramos ME, Synergistic interaction between Beauveria bassiana‐ and Bacillus thuringiensis tenebrionis‐based biopesticides applied against field populations of Colorado potato beetle larvae. J Invertebr Pathol 90:139–150 (2005).
Göldel B, Lemic D and Bažok R, Alternatives to synthetic insecticides in the control of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) and their environmental benefits. Agriculture (Basel) 10:611 (2020).
Grant Information:
GreenLight Biosciences
Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: Leptinotarsa decemlineata; ds‐RNAi‐insecticide; ledprona; pest management; potato
Substance Nomenclature:
0 (Insecticides)
0 (RNA, Double-Stranded)
0 (RNA, Double-Stranded)
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20251023 Date Completed: 20260111 Latest Revision: 20260111
Update Code:
20260130
DOI:
10.1002/ps.70294
PMID:
41126596
Database:
MEDLINE
*Further Information*
*Background: The Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is as important pest of potato, Solanum tuberosum, in the U.S. CPB management is heavily dependent on broad-spectrum insecticides, thereby stimulating an interest to identify alternative solutions. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of ledprona, a dsRNA interference-based bioinsecticide, following different application timings and frequencies to reduce CPB populations, minimize defoliation, and protect potato yields across diverse conditions in the northern U.S.
Results: Ledprona applied three to five times, starting when overwintered adults were present to a week after initial egg hatch, consistently provided the greatest suppression of first-generation larvae, and significantly reduced potato defoliation and yield loss. Applications initiated when larvae were abundant and most eggs had hatched, followed by one or two applications showed reduced effectiveness. While adult CPB control was inconsistent, ledprona effectively suppressed first-generation larval populations and defoliation, demonstrating its value as an effective novel bioinsecticide.
Conclusion: Optimal timing and frequency of ledprona applications are critical for effective CPB control in potato. Our findings indicated that the phenology of the CPB infestation will need to be monitored closely early in the season to enable proper timing of the first ledprona application. We offer practical insights for how best to integrate dsRNA-based insecticides into season-long CPB management programs. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.
(© 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.)*