Pesticidal properties of Anamirta cocculus, Cardiospermum halicacabum, Cocculus laurifolius and Strychnos nux-vomica against Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

Spodoptera litura , commonly known as taro caterpillar, is a major pest of several vegetables and economically important crops. The pest is reported to reduce the yield of the affected crop up to 10-30%. Hence, controlling this pest is one of the very crucial steps in increasing crop yield. The extensive use of broad-spectrum chemical pesticides to control S. litura has many negative impacts. The present study is an attempt to evaluate the efficacy of certain plants against S. litura . In this study, we investigated the anti-insect properties of leaf and bark extracts of Anamirta cocculus, Cardiospermum halicacabum , Cocculus laurifolius and Strychnos nux-vomica . All four plant extracts showed significant anti-feedant activity compared to control at different concentrations. The leaf extracts showed the activity in the order S. nux-vomica > C. halicacabum > C. laurifolius > A. cocculus at the exposure of maximum concentration. Anti-feedant activity of the bark extract was in the order C. laurifolius > S. nux-vomica > C. halicacabum. The leaf extracts of three plants A. cocculus, C. halicacabum and S. nux-vomica showed significant repellent activity. The repellent activity of the bark extracts was in the order, C. laurifolius > C. halicacabum > S. nux-vomica > A. cocculus. The GC-MS analysis of these plant extracts have shown many compounds with known anti-insect properties and specific molecule-based bio-assays might be required to ascertain the distinctive effects of these compounds.