Are Seed Treatments and Belowground Corn Traits Effective Against the Same Insects?

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 help control 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. Corn seed with VT4PRO™ with RNAi Technology corn seed comes treated with the Poncho® 1250 seed treatment rate in the US. This clothianidin rate compliments the trait package to help manage corn rootworm in areas with greater pressure from this belowground insect. 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 Corn Seed Treatments?

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 SmartStax®, VT Double PRO®, Trecepta®, and VT4PRO™ corn traits?²

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

Do Acceleron® Seed Treatments and the Corn Trait Technologies in Bayer Crop Science Corn Seed Help to Manage the Same Insects?

While there is some overlap between the pests managed by the seed treatment and the trait technology—like corn rootworm larvae being managed by the 1250 application rate of Acceleron® Solutions Offering and by the trait technology in SmartStax® corn 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 SeedGrowth™. https://www.greenbook.net/bayer-cropscience/poncho-600
²DiFonzo, C. and Porter, P. 2025. The handy Bt trait table for U.S. corn production. Michigan State University. [Website hosted by] Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. https://www.texasinsects.org/uploads/4/9/3/0/49304017/bttraittable_aug2025.pdf
Web sources verified 1/13/26. 1219_112472