Abstract
Phthorimaea operculella (Potato tuber moth) is a destructive pest of stored potatoes and potato crops, primarily in subtropical areas of the globe. It is a pest of the field as well as storage, the larvae damage the crop through the foliage, stem, and tubers too. The manifestation of potato tuber moth primes to high economic damages in production worldwide. Post-harvest protection of the potato tubers becomes important and is challenging. A treatment with chemical agents is a possible strategy but cannot be recommended for food items hence alternative methods become important in control of these moths. The present study deals with the assessment of plant oils of Cinnamomum verum, Cupressuss sempervirens and Cymbopogon nardus. These plant oils were used to evaluate the larvicidal, adulticidal, Insect growth regulatory, repellency and oviposition deterrence activities against potato tuber moth. Results of the present work indicated that all the test oils show some promise as pest control agents against P. operculella. Oil of C. verum has exhibited promising toxic action (larvicidal LC50 = 110.10 μg/cm2, adulticidal LC50 = 49.78 μg/cm2). The oil of C. nardus caused promising IGR activity (delay in development = 16.2 days) All three plant oils have shown multifarious activity and can be a part of an eco-friendly and user-friendly method of control.
Highlights
Potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella Zeller is a cosmopolitan major pest of potatoes belonging to order Lepidoptera and family Gelechiidae.), attacks several cultivated solanaceous plants including potato (Solanum tubersum), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), eggplant (Solanum melonguene), tomato (Lycopersicom esculentum), and bell pepper (Capasicum annuum)
Rearing Method: The nucleus culture of Potato Tuber Moth was obtained from Entomology, National
The highest adulticidal activity observed was LC50 = 49.78 μg/cm2 in case of C. verum followed by the oils of, C. nardus, exhibited LC50 at174.69 μg/cm2 while the lowest activity i.e. LC50= 179.92μg/cm2 was observed in case of C. sempervirens
Summary
Phthorimaea operculella Zeller is a cosmopolitan major pest of potatoes belonging to order Lepidoptera and family Gelechiidae.), attacks several cultivated solanaceous plants including potato (Solanum tubersum), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), eggplant (Solanum melonguene), tomato (Lycopersicom esculentum), and bell pepper (Capasicum annuum). Tubers suffer extensive damage due to P. operculella This is caused by the larvae, which normally spend their entire lives in either one of these food sources. Conventional synthetic insecticides, in spite of their undoubted pest control efficiency, have several disadvantages that have been brought into focus in recent years (Gonzalez et al 1977, Parmar and Devkumar1993, Edwards 1973) Some of these relate to their intrinsic high toxicities. Compounds extracted from plants or the derivatives of such compounds may affect insect physiology in various ways (Shekari et al, 2008) This investigation aimed to investigate the repellency and toxicity effects of crude oils against P. operculella
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