Abstract
Eco-chemical control based on essential oil mediated plant-insect interactions is an alternative method to the unsystematic use of insecticides, due to advanced structural diversity and allelopathic potential of essential oils. In this sense, present work was aimed at qualitative and quantitative investigation of chemical composition and the evaluation of insecticidal activities of Ruta graveolens essential oil and its major constituents against Sitophilus zeamais and Corcyra cephalonica in stored maize. Fresh leaves were subjected to hydrodistillaton and the chemical composition of oil was studied. Essential oil and its major constituents were then assessed for their allelopathic activity on test insects. Fifty components were identified, where long chain aliphatic 2-methyl ketones predominated the oil as major constituents. Results revealed strong concentration-, insect species- and time-dependent toxicities, in which oil caused 100 % mortalities at concentrations of 1.52 and 0.46 µL/cm2 against S. zeamais and C. cephalonica respectively after 24 hours of exposure. In aliphatic 2-methyl ketone series, respective congeners having odd and even number of carbon atoms were more effective on S. zeamais and C. cephalonica. These findings provide a scientific basis for the eco-potential of using essential oil of R. graveolens and its major constituents in integrated insect pest management programs.
Highlights
Synthetic insecticides are being extensively used with the view of protecting stored grains in increasing yields which have triggered many undesirable impacts on entire ecosystems, society and every aspect of life on earth
These findings provide a scientific basis for the eco-potential of using essential oil of R. graveolens and its major constituents in integrated insect pest management programs
Data of the present study clearly indicated that the essential oil of R. graveolens possessed significantly strong insecticidal efficacy, followed by its major functional component of long chain aliphatic 2-methyl ketones constituting C8-C13 congeners against Sitophilus zeamais and Corcyra cephalonica
Summary
Synthetic insecticides are being extensively used with the view of protecting stored grains in increasing yields which have triggered many undesirable impacts on entire ecosystems, society and every aspect of life on earth. Plant essential oils and their constituents have been extensively studied and proposed as being a high potential option (Pumnuan et al, 2015; Guo et al, 2015) due to their specificity in exerting wide array of known biological influences on insects including repellent, deterrent or antifeedant, inhibition of digestion, increasing oviposition or contrarily decreasing reproduction by ovicidal and larvicidal effects (Regnault-Roger, 1997). The high volatility of plant essential oils and their constituents reduce the concern for their residues on stored grains (Kim et al, 2016). The accurate quantification of individual compounds of essential oils is a key element in research or industrial analysis which may be used to understand the relationship between the constituent structure and aroma of essential oils (Zhu et al, 2005), and between the constituent structures and their broad spectrum of biological properties against insect pests
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