Recently, the Pest Control and Biosafety Innovation Team of the Institute of Cotton Research of CAAS (ICR‑CAAS) developed multifunctional thiacloprid microcapsules and clarified their action mechanism. The finding offers new ideas for developing green pesticide formulations integrating pesticide and fertilizer, and the results have been published in Journal of Hazardous Materials.

Thiacloprid is widely used against cotton aphids with a broad insecticidal spectrum and good systemic activity. Nevertheless, conventional formulations suffer from low utilization efficiency, easily trigger phytotoxicity in cotton and harm non-target soil organisms, posing persistent challenges for formulation optimization.

The microcapsules were fabricated using sodium alginate and chitosan as shell materials and zinc ions as crosslinkers, achieving a drug loading rate of 61.50%. Eighty days after application, their control efficacy against cotton aphids was 1.6 times that of raw thiacloprid.

Moreover, the microcapsules slowly release zinc, boosting cotton photosynthesis and antioxidant capacity and promoting root development. This realizes pesticide‑fertilizer integration. The capsules do not inhibit cotton seed germination, alleviate pesticide stress and reduce thiacloprid toxicity to earthworms, representative non-target soil organisms.

This study provides a new strategy for green control of cotton aphids and the development of eco-friendly multifunctional pesticides. The research was funded by the Key R&D Program of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.