Insecticidal activity of Pilocarpus spicatus Saint-Hilaire (Rutaceae) essential oil against the crop pest Dysdercus peruvianus (Guérin-Méneville, 1831) and Oncopeltus fasciatus (Dallas, 1852)

Raul Apolinário,Leandro Rocha,Maria Denise Feder,Marcelo Salabert Gonzalez,Marcelo Guerra Santos,Cícero Brasileiro Mello,Jacenir Santos-Mallet,Meiriellem G Da Silveira Costa,Patrícia Azambuja,Jeane Nogueira

doi:10.33448/rsd-v9i11.10489

Abstract

Studies were carried out to evaluate the insecticidal activity of Pilocarpus spicatus Saint-Hilaire (Rutaceae) essential oil (EO) on the development of the Hemiptera Dysdercus peruvianus (Guérin-Méneville, 1831) and Oncopeltus fasciatus (Dallas, 1852). Gas Chromatography/Mass spectrometry analysis revealed a chemical composition with sabinene (32.27%) and sylvestrene (27.26%) as major constituents. Topical and continuous treatment with the pure EO induced 100% of mortality while serial dilutions of the EO induced different levels of lethality in a dose response manner. Median lethal dose (LD50) and lethal dose 90% (LD90) were determined. Malformations in insects and permanent or supernumerary nymphs were often observed after treatments, and the use of scanning electron microscopy allowed the analysis of morphological changes. The different biological effects of P. spicatus EO point out its potential as a rich source of bioactive molecules to be used as an alternative control method against agricultural pest insects.

Highlights

IntroductionDue to the economic importance of insects which are considered agricultural pests, many methods based on the use of synthetic chemicals for pest control have been adopted over decades
Studies were carried out to evaluate the insecticidal activity of Pilocarpus spicatus SaintHilaire (Rutaceae) essential oil (EO) on the development of the Hemiptera Dysdercus peruvianus (Guérin-Méneville, 1831) and Oncopeltus fasciatus (Dallas, 1852)
Due to the economic importance of insects which are considered agricultural pests, many methods based on the use of synthetic chemicals for pest control have been adopted over decades

Summary

Introduction

Due to the economic importance of insects which are considered agricultural pests, many methods based on the use of synthetic chemicals for pest control have been adopted over decades. Environmental damage and toxicity to non-target organisms were often reported in the use of first insecticides from earlier generations (Fernandes, et al, 2013) To reduce these adverse effects, it is necessary to develop innovative control methods for the agricultural pest management. The use of natural products obtained from plants have been shown wide potential as source of biodegradable green insecticides containing substances such as terpenoids, alkaloids and phenolic compounds (Mello, et al, 2008; Chaubey, 2019) Such plant-derived products (PDPs) have been recognized by several biological activities as repellency and insect toxicity, besides other bioactive effects on invertebrates (George, et al, 2014). Our data indicate that P. spicatus EO acts as a potent growth inhibitor of O. fasciatus and D. peruvianus and has the potential to be used in integrated and environmentally friendly control programs against agricultural pest insects

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