Abstract
Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.) (C. maculatus) is one of the major pests of legume seeds in storage causing significant damage, leading to food insecurity and low income for farmers. This work was planned to develop eco-friendly agents from essential oils of Artemisia herba alba Asso. (AEO), Maticaria Recutita L. (MEO), and Dittrichia Viscosa L. (DEO) to control C. maculatus. To achieve this goal, essential oils (EOs) were extracted by hydro-distillation using Clevenger apparatus before being characterized by GC-MS. EOs were used for testing purposes using three different tests, namely, inhalation toxicity, contact toxicity, and repellency tests. GC-MS analysis of EOs showed the presence of 16 potentially active compounds in AEO and 38 in MEO, whilst 15 compounds were identified in DEO. AEO was higher in thujone (57.6%) and chrysanthenone (11.8%). Santolina alcohol (40.7%) and germacrene D (8.9%) were the major compounds identified in MEO, whereas isocostic acid (72.3%) was the chief compound of DEO. The obtained findings showed that the studied EOs showed considerable insecticidal activity against C. maculatus with a lethal dose (LC50) of 3.78, 8.86, and 14.34 μL/1 liter of air by AEO, MEO, and DEO, respectively. At 1 μL/1 liter of air, the oviposition reduction rate was 90.02%, 70.65%, and 48.23% by AEO, MEO, and DEO, respectively, whereas the emergence reduction rate was 87.32%, 60.08%, and 32.24% by AEO, MEO, and DEO, respectively. With increasing doses up to 20 μL/L, the reduction of individual emergence reached 98.8% by AEO of 24 h after treatment. AEO, MEO, and DEO showed significant repellent effects against adults of C. maculatus with repulsion percentages of 60.83%, 50.83%, and 72.5%, respectively. The outcome of this work suggests that the essential oils of the studied plants, particularly Artemisia herba alba Asso. oils, can constitute a natural and environmentally friendly alternative to develop new bioinsecticides for the control of C. maculatus.
Highlights
Aromatic and medicinal plants and their extracts have been traditionally used as plant-protection agents in various ancient cultures history recorded
Erefore, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of essential oils (EOs) from Artemisia herba alba Asso. and Maticaria Recutita L. and Dittrichia Viscosa L. in the control of C. maculatus because no similar has been done up to date
Mass rearing of C. maculatus was performed in glass jars containing Cicer arietinum seeds. e jars were maintained at a temperature of 25 ± 1°C, relative humidity, and a photoperiod of 14:00/10:00 to obtain several successive generations of the insect. e nonwinged form of the adults with greater reproductive capacity was selected for testing. e active/ inactive form was determined both by the presence of flight activity, the size of the elytra, and the intensity of pigmentation on the elytra [33]
Summary
Aromatic and medicinal plants and their extracts have been traditionally used as plant-protection agents in various ancient cultures history recorded. With the massive and sometimes irrational use of chemically synthetic insecticides generated in recent years, people are becoming increasingly aware of their harmful effects on human health and the environment besides their effectiveness in crop protection. Most of these synthetic insecticides are nondegradable and accumulate in the environment or the human body through food chains, often causing chronic diseases and other severe physiological disorders [1,2,3,4,5]. Essential oils have been scientifically studied worldwide to control postharvest pests of cereals, legumes, citrus, tomatoes, and food-borne microorganisms [6,7,8,9]
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