Insecticidal Activity and Chemical Composition of Moringa oleifera Extract Against The Leguminous Aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch on Broad Bean Plants

Abstract

In this study, Moringa oleifera leaves were extracted by ethanol 70% and the contents of total phenolic and total flavonoids were estimated by using spectrophotometer methods and HPLC analysis. The content of total phenolic in the ethanolic extract of M. oleifera leaves was 11.66 g GAE/100 g ethanolic extract. The content of total flavonoids in the ethanolic extract of M. oleifera leaves was 4.52 g IQE/100g extract. Twenty five components were represented in the tested sample by HPLC. The study also aimed to evaluate the M. oleifera extract (ethanolic extract) prepared from M. oleifera leaves, as a natural insecticide and thiamethoxam (80 g / fed.) as a comparative insecticide against aphid, Aphis craccivora on broad bean (Vicia faba L.) plants in Faculty of Agriculture farm, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt during the 2017 season. A series of concentrations were prepared from M. oleifera extract, concentrations 1, 2, 4 and 8%. The results obtained that the reduction percentage in the population of aphid insect increases with increasing concentration of M. oleifera extract (1% - 8%). The concentrations of 2 and 4% of M. oleifera extract caused 48.66 and 58.95 % mortality, respectively. The results also revealed that there is no significant differences between thiamethoxam and 8% M. oleifera leaf extract, there are recorded the highest values in reducing the population of the insect tested compared with the control treatment. The results indicate that biomaterials derived from M. oleifera leaves can be used for integrated pest management, which is a good alternative to conventional synthetic insecticides.