Aqueous Extracts of Species of the Genus Campomanesia (Myrtaceae) Affect Biological Characteristics of Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

Silvana De Paula Quintão Scalon,Emerson Machado De Carvalho,Mateus Pereira,Rosilda Mara Mussury,Irys Fernanda Santana Couto,Silvana Aparecida De Souza,Fabricio Fagundes Pereira,Claudia A L Cardoso

doi:10.5539/jas.v11n5p334

Abstract

Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) is an insect pest that causes great damage to Brassica cultures. It is necessary to develop alternative control methods, because this pest is resistant to many synthetic insecticides that are harmful to the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous extracts of Campomanesia adamantium, C. guazumifolia, and C. xanthocarpa on the life cycle of P. xylostella. These aqueous extracts were prepared in a concentration of 10 g/mL and then applied on cabbage disks of 4 cm2 to feed the larvae until they reached pupal stage. The disks were evaluated daily during the larval stage and replaced every 24 hours. The experiment consisted of ten replicates, each replicate containing five subsamples. The parameters evaluated were larval and pupal survival, pupal biomass, gender ratio, male and female longevity, number of eggs, fecundity, oviposition period and egg survival. The C. xanthocarpa extract increased larval stage and decreased pupal biomass and oviposition period. The C. adamantium extract decreased larval duration, pupal biomass, male longevity, and oviposition period. The C. guazumifolia extract decreased larval stage, male longevity, and oviposition period. The chemical composition of the extracts of Campomanesia species presented flavonoids such as quercetin, phenolic compounds, and tannins, and the highest retention time occurred in C. adamantium. Thus, the extracts of Campomanesia species were effective in decreasing and controlling the oviposition period of P. xylostella, probably because of the presence of flavonoids, which indicates a possible antioxidant potential and, therefore, the observed antibiosis.

Highlights

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is an important microlepidoptera for agriculture, being considered the main pest of Brassicaceae cultivations (Furlong et al, 2013)
The extracts of C. adamantium and C. xanthocarpa showed a decrease in number of days of 4.99 and 4.21 days, respectively, when compared to the other extract
As for pupal survival, there was a higher mortality in the C. xanthocarpa extract, with emergence of 47.79%, while there was no significant difference in the other treatments, with survival above 92%

Summary

Introduction

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is an important microlepidoptera for agriculture, being considered the main pest of Brassicaceae cultivations (Furlong et al, 2013). The use of pesticides is still the method most used by producers to control insects that cause agricultural damage, such as P. xylostella. These pesticides are used because they are practical, fast, and efficient in population control (Talekar & Shelton, 1993), but their use may select for more resistant individuals (Thuler et al, 2007), which would probably maximize the problem. Some studies have shown that the use of insecticidal plants deserves to be highlighted because of their low toxicity, selectivity, and efficiency against numerous insect pests (Neves & Nogueira, 1996)

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