Abstract
The toxicities of essential oils (EOs) from 18 species of Brazilian Piperaceae were assessed on eggs of the velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis . Oils were extracted using steam distillation, and dilutions were made for bioassays at concentrations of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0%. All EOs reduced larval hatching. The lowest lethal concentrations were obtained from Piper fuligineum (SP), Piper mollicomum “chemotype 1” (SP), Piper mosenii (PR), Piper aduncum (PA) and Piper marginatum (PA). Ovicidal activity is related to the potential toxicity of several compounds, especially dilapiolle, myristicin, asaricine, spathulenol and piperitone. According to our results, EOs from 16 Brazilian Piper species have potential for use as biorational botanical insecticides.
Highlights
The velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Eribidae), is the primary soybean defoliator in Brazil (Panizzi, Oliveira, & Silva, 2004)
The eggs used in the bioassays were obtained from a colony of A. gemmatalis maintained in the Laboratory of Integrated Control of Insects (LCII), and the oils were extracted by hydrodistillation in the Vegetable Ecophysiology Laboratory, both at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil
All evaluated essential oils (EOs) reduced the larval hatching of A. gemmatalis compared with control treatments, except for P. solmsianum (SP) and P. hispidum (GO), which did not show significant differences in the average number of hatched larvae
Summary
The velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Eribidae), is the primary soybean defoliator in Brazil (Panizzi, Oliveira, & Silva, 2004) This species damages other crops of economic importance (Rahman, Bridges, Chapin, & Thomas, 2007). New approaches are needed to reduce risks to the environment and natural enemies and to avoid or delay the onset of insecticide resistance (Loureiro, Moino-Junior, Arnosti, & Souza, 2002; Petroski & Stanley, 2009; Rampelotti-Ferreira et al, 2010). The use of plant-based insecticides is an alternative for the control of lepidopteran pests primarily by having low toxicity and short persistence in the environment (Costa, Silva, & Fiuza, 2004). Plants of the family Piperaceae may be a promising alternative for the control of insect pests because they contain active principles with high insecticidal potential (Fazolin, Estrela, Catani, & Alécio, 2005; Fazolin, Estrela, Catani, Alécio, & Lima, 2007; Estrela, Fazolin, Catani, Alécio, & Lima, 2006; Barbosa et al, 2012)
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