Are seed treatments effective against the same insects as belowground traits?

• Various Bayer trait packages help manage certain belowground insect pests, while other insects are controlled by insecticides applied to the seed as a component of Acceleron® Solutions Offering.
• Belowground trait packages are only effective against corn rootworm larvae (northern, western, and Mexican) while aboveground trait packages are effective against several different species of insects.
• Insecticides used with seed treatments provide control against several soil-dwelling insect pests, as well as some aboveground pests early in the season.

Which Insecticides are Available on the Corn Seed Products from Bayer Crop Science?

Bayer Crop Science uses clothianidin (Poncho® insecticide) in its corn seed treatments. Clothianidin seed treatments are available at two different rates of application: 500 (0.50 mg active ingredient /kernel) or 1250 (1.25 mg active ingredient/kernel), depending on the corn product. Products with SmartStax® Technology come with either BASIC plus or ELITE plus Acceleron® Solutions Offering at the 500 application rate. The 1250 rate is available only on certain products. Please consult with your Bayer seed representative to determine which Acceleron® Solutions Offering is available for your preferred corn seed product.

Which Insects Are Managed by the Bayer Crop Science Seed Treatments on Corn Products?

The Bayer Crop Science corn seed treatment labels state that they help manage the insects listed in Table 1, depending on the application rate.¹

Table 1. Insects managed by Acceleron^® Solutions Offering.

Which Insects Are Managed by the Traits in SmartStax^® RIB Complete®, VT Double PRO® RIB Complete®, and the Trecepta® RIB Complete® Corn Brand Blend Products?²

Table 2. Insects managed by Bayer Crop Science corn trait technology packages.

Do Acceleron® Solutions Offerings and the Trait Technologies in Bayer Crop Science Seed Products Help to Manage the Same Insects?

While there is some overlap between the two, like corn rootworm larvae being managed by the 1250 application rate of Acceleron^® Solutions Offering and by the trait technology in SmartStax® RIB Complete® corn brand blend products, most of the other major seed and seedling pests are managed by either the seed treatment or the trait technology, not both.

Sources

¹Poncho® 600 label. Bayer Seed Growth^TM. https://agriculture.basf.us/content/dam/cxm/agriculture/crop-protection/products/documents/Poncho_600_Label1i.pdf

²DiFonzo, C. 2025. The handy Bt trait table for U.S. corn production. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. https://www.texasinsects.org/bt-corn-trait-table.html

Web sources verified 4/24/25. 1219_112472