Evaluation of the Ecotoxicology of Seaweed-Based Biopesticide Used in Combat of the Polyphagous Pest Using Eudrilus eugeniae Kinb.

Abstract

Fundamental techniques for determining the toxicity of pesticides to soil organisms are ecotoxicological laboratory assays. Due to their expanding potential and rise in use as a sustainable agricultural strategy toward the biological pest management, we quantified the effects of the compounds from the active fraction of the green seaweed Chaetomorpha antennina (Chlorophyceae), which is found in abundance in coastal areas of India that was used for the control of the polyphagous lepidopteran Spodoptera litura. Since the seaweed compounds were able to affect the morphology, physiology, and biochemical aspects of the pest, it is essential to perform an ecotoxicological assessment against the bioindicator organism Eudrilus eugeniae Kinb. This comprehensive assessment includes a morphological assay as well as the possible effects of the compounds on the earthworm's physiological and biochemical aspects such as acetylcholinesterase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase enzyme activities. The benignity of the compounds should also be confirmed by analyzing the gut histology of the earthworms treated with the compounds.