Abstract
Eugenia winzerlingii (Myrtaceae) is an endemic plant from the Yucatan peninsula. Its organic extracts and fractions from leaves have been tested on two phloem-feeding insects, Bemisia tabaci and Myzus persicae, on two plant parasitic nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita and Meloidogyne javanica, and phytotoxicity on Lolium perenne and Solanum lycopersicum. Results showed that both the hexane extract and the ethyl acetate extract, as well as the fractions, have strong antifeedant and nematicidal effects. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses of methylated active fractions revealed the presence of a mixture of fatty acids. Authentic standards of detected fatty acids and methyl and ethyl derivatives were tested on target organisms. The most active compounds were decanoic, undecanoic, and dodecanoic acids. Methyl and ethyl ester derivatives had lower effects in comparison with free fatty acids. Dose-response experiments showed that undecanoic acid was the most potent compound with EC50 values of 21 and 6 nmol/cm2 for M. persicae and B. tabaci, respectively, and 192 and 64 nmol for M. incognita and M. javanica, respectively. In a phytotoxicity assay, medium-chain fatty acids caused a decrease of 38–52% in root length and 50–60% in leaf length of L. perenne, but no effects were observed on S. lycopersicum. This study highlights the importance of the genus Eugenia as a source of bioactive metabolites for plant pest management.
Highlights
Plant pests are a severe constraint in crop production worldwide
The hexane (HEX) and ethyl acetate (ETA) extracts obtained from E. winzerlingii leaves showed a strong settling inhibition (SI) of M. persicae (SI, 87.9–96.9%) and mortal (M) effect on second stage juveniles (J2) of M. incognita and M. javanica (M, 100%)
1b, 1c, 1d, 2b, and 2c showed the strongest SI effect on M. persicae (>90%); while 1b, 1c, 2b, and 2c fractions had the strongest effect on M. incognita and M. javanica (M, 100%) (Table 1)
Summary
Plant pests are a severe constraint in crop production worldwide. Various species of insects and nematodes have primary importance due to the enormous losses they cause in crop productivity [1,2]. The species E. winzerlingii the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita [19,20]. Studies focusing on the effects of extracts or metabolites on plant pests are scarce [27,28]. In the search for novel plant-derived metabolites from regional plants, have identified the active components causing insect deterrent and nematicidal activity of thewe organic identified the active components causing insect deterrent and nematicidal activity of the organic extracts from E. winzerlingii leaves using a partial bioassay-guided fractionation of the hexane and extracts from extracts. Four economically important plant pest species were used: The sap-feeding insects B. tabaci and M. persicae and the root-knot nematodes M. incognita and M. The sap-feeding insects tabaci and M. and the root-knot was nematodes and M.L. phytotoxicity of persicae the identified compounds assessedM.
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