Rainer Fuchs

Stability and Biological Activity of Cyfluthrin Isomers

A GC-MS method capable of completely separating the four pairs of diastereoisomers of cyfluthrin is presented and the method used to show that isomerisation of the cyfluthrin enantiomers occurs in methanol. This methanol-induced isomerisation could also be demonstrated by bioassays using water fleas. The biological activities of the various cyfluthrin isomers contained in the commercial products cyfluthrin and beta-cyfluthrin were assayed using several strains of lepidopteran larvae including Plutella xylostella, Heliothis virescens and Spodoptera frugiperda. With the susceptible strains, the efficiencies of the isomers mixtures of cyfluthrin and beta-cyfluthrin were shown to obey the rules of additivity. However, in tests with a resistant strain of P. xylostella originating from Thailand, the ‘inactive’ isomer III acted synergistically with the active isomer IV. Resistance factors in strains of H. virescens and P. xylostella were found to be higher with cis than with trans isomers. This probably contributes to the superior action of cyfluthrin and beta-cyfluthrin against various pests of agricultural importance since the commercial products contain a high content of trans isomers (‘high trans pyrethroids’).