SCREENING OF PESTICIDAL ACTIVITIES OF SOME MARINE SPONGE EXTRACTS AGAINST CHOSEN PESTS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Marine sponges (Porifera) are one of the most productive marine organisms. Eighty per cent of sponges (ethanolic extracts) were found to have insecticidal activity against fifth instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus (Say.) (Diptera: Culicidae) and Achaea janata (Linn.) (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera) and Pericallia ricini (Fab.) (Lepidoptera: Arctidae). Of the twelve sponges, five of them like Clathria longitoxa (Hentschel) (Poecilosclerida: Microcionidae), Callyspongia diffusa (Ridley) (Haplosclerida: Callyspongiidae), Haliclona pigmentifera (Dendy), Sigmadocia carnosa (Dendy), (Haplosclerida: Chaliniidae), and Denrilla nigra (Dendy) (Dendroceratidae: Darwinellidae) showed significant insecticidal activity. This paper clearly elucidated that C. longitoxa and Callyspongia diffusa (Rid.) were found to be more active than the remaining tested sponges. Screened twelve sponges showed the inhibition of larval growth ranged between 9-70% on A. janata and 10- 96% on P. ricini respectively. From the results, we conclude that secondary metabolites of sponges were found to be an effective biopesticides against lepidopteran pests and larvae of C. quinquefasciatus.