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Science 31 August 1973:
Vol. 181. no. 4102, pp. 847 - 849
DOI: 10.1126/science.181.4102.847
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Articles

Synergism of Insecticides by Herbicides

E. P. Lichtenstein 1, T. T. Liang 1, and B. N. Anderegg 1

1 Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706

The herbicides atrazine, simazine, monuron, and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) enhanced the toxicity of selected insecticides to Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, Musca domestica L., and larvae of Aedes aegypti L. The insecticides—nine organophosphorus compounds, two chlorinated hydrocarbons, and one carbamate—were used at dosages that resulted in low insect mortalities, while the herbicides by themselves were nontoxic. Atrazine was most effective. With increasing amounts of this herbicide and constant amounts of some insecticides, increasing mortalities of fruit flies were observed. Exposure of the insects for 24 hours to carbofuran (0.5 microgram), p,p'-DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane] (4 micrograms), parathion (0.35 microgram), and diazinon (0.2 microgram) alone resulted in mortalities of 7.5, 9.5, 8, and 10.5 percent, respectively. Based on dosage mortality curves obtained with increasing amounts of atrazine, mortalities of 50 percent of the insect populations would have been achieved with 23, 40, 6, and 10 micrograms of atrazine added to the abovementioned dosages of carbofuran, DDT, parathion, and diazinon, respectively.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Toxicant-disease-environment interactions associated with suppression of immune system, growth, and reproduction.
W. Porter, R Hinsdill, A Fairbrother, L. Olson, J Jaeger, T Yuill, S Bisgaard, W. Hunter, and K Nolan (1984)
Science 224, 1014-1017
   Abstract »    PDF »
Synergism of Insecticides by Herbicides: Effect of Environmental Factors.
T. T. Liang and E. P. Lichtenstein (1974)
Science 186, 1128-1130
   Abstract »    PDF »


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