Assessment of resistance risk in obliquebanded leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) to the reduced-risk insecticides chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram.

Obliquebanded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a major pest of pome fruit in Washington. The use of broad-spectrum insecticides for decades has led to the development of insecticide resistance in C. rosaceana. Recently registered insecticides with novel modes of action, such as chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram, have provided effective C. rosaceana control, but resistance remains a threat. The risk of insecticide resistance development in a pest can be assessed by artificial selection in the laboratory. Subsequently, this information can be valuable in developing strategies to retain susceptibility in the field. A laboratory population of C. rosaceana was selected after repeated exposure to chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram to determine the risk of resistance evolution. After six generations of selection, 6.58- and 3.64-fold increases in LC50 were recorded for chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram, respectively. The realized heritability (h2) of resistance was estimated as 0.17 for chlorantraniliprole and 0.18 for spinetoram by using threshold trait analysis. The rates of resistance development were compared using the response quotient (Q), which was estimated as 0.11 and 0.07 for chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram, respectively. Projected rates of resistance evolution indicated that if h2 = 0.2 and 80% of the population was killed at each generation, then a 10-fold increase in LC50 would be expected in less than six generations for chlorantraniliprole and 10 generations for spinetoram. These results indicate that the risk of resistance development in C. rosaceana exists to both of these insecticides but that resistance development in C. rosaceana would be slower against spinetoram than chlorantraniliprole.