Pharmacokinetic Analysis Using iMScope QT During Corn and Soybean Seed Treatment with Pesticides

Introduction

Pesticide seed treatments effectively protect crops early in the seeding process, allowing for less use of fungicide later. Consequently, it is implemented in significant agricultural products such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton. Different distributions of pesticides on treated seeds can be visualized depending on the seeds’ structures and physical properties, which have been not well studied. In this application note, mass spectrometry imaging using iMScope QT was performed to visualize the distribution of a fungicide (ethaboxam) within coated corn and soybean seeds. Contrasting distribution patterns were observed in corn and soybean at the pre-sowing stage, which were thought to depend on those seed structures. Information on the distribution of ethaboxam after sowing is also expected to provide data that will contribute to a better understanding of fungicide delivery pathways in plants. This new analytical method will enable us to obtain time-dependent and dynamic information on fungicides that have not been available before and will be a useful tool that can be widely applied in the development and use of pesticides in the future.

September 25, 2024 GMT