Abstract
Mexican lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) is an economically important crop in Mexico that is adversely affected by insect pests, including Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) and Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). The effectiveness of chemical control depends not only on the active ingredient but also on application-related factors, including spray coverage and insecticide retention on plant surfaces. This study evaluated, on two separate occasions, the effects of the adjuvants Benchpress and INEX A on the efficacy of spinetoram and imidacloprid in the Apatzingán Valley, Michoacán, Mexico, in 2025. A randomized complete block design with eight treatments and four replicates was used. Biological efficacy was estimated using the Henderson-Tilton formula at 8 and 16 days after application. Benchpress, when tank-mixed with spinetoram and imidacloprid, achieved biological efficacy values ranging from 86.8 % to 100 % in the first experiment and from 74.8 % to 93.5 % in the second at 16 days after application, supporting the incorporation of adjuvants into integrated pest management programs.
References
Google LLC. (2026). Google Earth Pro (Versión 7.3.6) [Software]. https://earth.google.com/
Green, J. M., & Beestman, G. B. (2007). Recently patented and commercialized formulation and adjuvant technology. Crop Protection, 26(3), 320-327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2005.04.018
Henderson, C. F., & Tilton, E. W. (1955). Tests with acaricides against the brown wheat mite. Journal of Economic Entomology, 48(2), 157-161. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/48.2.157
Holka, M., & Kowalska, J. (2023). The potential of adjuvants used with microbiological control of insect pests with emphasis on organic farming. Agriculture, 13(9), Article 1659. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091659
Holloway, P. J., Ellis, M. B., Webb, D. A., Western, N. M., Tuck, C. R., Hayes, A. L., & Miller, P. C. H. (2000). Effects of some agricultural tank-mix adjuvants on the deposition efficiency of aqueous sprays on foliage. Crop Protection, 19(1), 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-2194(99)00079-4
Iftikhar, I., Thala, M., Muhammad, M., & Amtulmunium, L. (2024). Insecticide resistance in agricultural pests: Challenges and solutions. Trends in Biotechnology and Plant Sciences, 2, 36-41. https://doi.org/10.62460/TBPS/2024.015
Jibrin, M. O., Liu, Q., Jones, J. B., & Zhang, S. (2021). Surfactants in plant disease management: A brief review and case studies. Plant Pathology, 70(3), 495-510. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.13318
Killiny, N., Hijaz, F., Gonzalez-Blanco, P., Jones, S. E., Pierre, M. O., & Vincent, C. I. (2020). Effect of adjuvants on oxytetracycline uptake upon foliar application in citrus. Antibiotics, 9(10), Article 677. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9100677
Leong, S. S., Leong, S. C., & Beattie, G. A. C. (2022). Integrated pest management strategies for Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and huanglongbing in citrus for Sarawak, East Malaysia, Borneo. Insects, 13(10), Article 960. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13100960
Meng, Y., Zhong, W., Liu, C., Su, J., Su, J., Lan, Y., Wang, Z., & Wang, M. (2022). UAV spraying on citrus crop: Impact of tank-mix adjuvant on the contact angle and droplet distribution. PeerJ, 10, Article e13064. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.13064
Milanowski, M., Subr, A., Combrzyński, M., Różańska-Boczula, M., & Parafiniuk, S. (2022). Effect of adjuvant, concentration and water type on the droplet size characteristics in agricultural nozzles. Applied Sciences, 12(12), Article 5821. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12125821
Mirzaei, M., Zand, E., Rastgoo, M., Hasanfard, A., & Kudsk, P. (2023). Effects and mitigation of poor water quality on herbicide performance: A review. Weed Research, 63(3), 139-152. https://doi.org/10.1111/wre.12573
Mora-Aguilera, G., Robles-García, P., López-Arroyo, J. I., Velázquez-Monreal, J., Flores-Sánchez, J., Acevedo-Sánchez, G., & González-Gómez, R. (2013). Current situation and prospects of management of citrus HLB. Consultado el 25 de enero de 2026, disponible en: https://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S0185-33092014000200108&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en
Morse, J. G., & Hoddle, M. S. (2006). Invasion biology of thrips. Annual Review of Entomology, 51, 67-89. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.51.110104.151044
Nauen, R., Slater, R., Sparks, T. C., Elbert, A., & McCaffery, A. (2019). IRAC: Insecticide resistance and mode-of-action classification of insecticides. In Modern crop protection compounds (pp. 995-1012). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527699261.ch28
Pardo-Melgarejo, S., Morales-Hernández, F., González-Cabrera, J., Miranda-Salcedo, M. A., Álvarez-Hernández, J. C., Rodríguez-Maciel, J. C., & Arias, K. V. D. (2025). Relationship between Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) population density and three of its natural enemies in commercial lemon orchards in Mexico. Journal of Entomological Science, 61, 193-206. https://doi.org/10.18474/JES25-08
Pardo-Melgarejo, S., Rodríguez-Maciel, J. C., Pineda, S., Lagunes-Tejeda, Á., Guzmán-Franco, A. W., Silva-Aguayo, G., & Ramírez-Sánchez, A. K. (2023). Thirty-minute test to detect insecticide resistance under field conditions: The case of the Asian citrus psyllid. Pest Management Science, 79(9), 3159-3166. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.7491
Reitz, S. R., Gao, Y., Kirk, W. D. J., Hoddle, M. S., Leiss, K. A., & Funderburk, J. E. (2020). Invasion biology, ecology, and management of western flower thrips. Annual Review of Entomology, 65, 17-37. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-011019-024947
SAS Institute Inc. (2013). Base SAS® 9.4 procedures guide: Statistical procedures. SAS Institute Inc. https://documentation.sas.com/doc/en/pgmsascdc/9.4_3.5/procstat/titlepage.htm
Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera. (2025). Avances de siembras y cosechas. Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural. https://nube.agricultura.gob.mx/avance_agricola/
Shahzad, F., Tang, L., & Vashisth, T. (2023). Unraveling the mystery of canopy dieback caused by citrus disease huanglongbing and its link to hypoxia stress. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, Article 1119530. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1119530
Song, Y., Huang, Q., Huang, G., Liu, M., Cao, L., Li, F., & Cao, C. (2022). The effects of adjuvants on the wetting and deposition of insecticide solutions on hydrophobic wheat leaves. Agronomy, 12(9), Article 2148. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12092148
Stansly, P. A., & Qureshi, J. A. (2020). Integrated management of Asian citrus psyllid and huanglongbing in Florida: Past, present and future. In J. A. Qureshi & P. A. Stansly (Eds.), Asian citrus psyllid: Biology, ecology and management of the huanglongbing vector (pp. 222-233). CABI. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781786394088.0222
Zheng, J., & Xu, Y. (2023). A review: Development of plant protection methods and advances in pesticide application technology in agro-forestry production. Agriculture, 13(11), Article 2165. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112165
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Revista Bio Ciencias