A new insecticide is being developed for use against summer aphids in cereals by Dow AgroSciences.

Sulfoxaflor was in a novel chemical class, although it shared some similarities with neonicotinoid insecticides in interacting with the insect neonicotinic receptor, Chris Longhurst, Dow AgroScience’s biological team leader for the product, said at the British Crop Production Council’s Crop World conference.

But research so far had shown there was no cross-resistance with neonicotinoid-resistant insecticides, he said.

First introductions of the product were likely to be for use in cotton and glasshouses, but the firm was also investigating its use against summer aphids in cereals, with the hope of an introduction around 2015.

The product could also be developed for use against aphids transmitting barley yellow dwarf virus, and to control Myzus persicae in potatoes, he told Farmers Weekly.