Adverse conditions promoting stress
impair the energy balance of crops, and could result in the
generation of less energy necessary for proper growth,
subsequent yield, and post-harvest quality measures. Therefore,
maximum growth, plant development, and highest
possible yield potential are normally considered to be far
from what can actually be obtained without stressors. After
the introduction of imidacloprid in crop protection,
numerous field observations on plant-stimulating (so-called
phytotonic) effects were made, which could not be linked to
a reduction in pest pressure. It was found that compounds
such as [these] could stimulate plant growth and thus lead to
higher yields under conditions normally rendering plants less
productive because of abiotic stress.

plants drenched with imidacloprid showed better growth, and
gene expression profiling analysis revealed that the expression
of drought-stress marker genes is delayed, thereby
resulting in a less-pronounced decline in photosynthetically
driven energy production. Greenhouse trials with Arabidopsis
thaliana also clearly demonstrated the potential of imidacloprid to
improve the survival and growth rate under drought-stress
conditions

Field experiments conducted in 2004 confirmed the
potential of imidacloprid to moderate drought stress in
plants, with an average lint yield increase of 10 percent
observed in cotton. These results clearly indicate that imidacloprid,
besides its insecticidal activity, supports plants in moderating
the effects of abiotic and biotic stress

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Agonists: 
A Milestone for Modern Crop Protection
Peter Jeschke, Ralf Nauen, and Michael Edmund Beck
 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

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