Toxic Effects of Ak (Calotrpis procera) Plant Extracts Against Termites (Heterotermes indicola and Coptotermes heimi) Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae

Abstract

A research project was carried out to study the toxic effects of Ak (Calotropis procera) crude extracts against two species of termites i.e. Heterotermes indicola and Coptotermes heimi at Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Peshawar-Pakistan in April 2002. Results revealed that maximum mortality in case of H. indicola was 21.3, 14.7, 10.7 and 5.3% of C. pocera leaves extracts in concentration of 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and control, respectively while in flowers extracts these values were 45.3, 34.7, 25.3 and 9.3%, respectively. For Coptotermes heimi leaves extracts caused maximum mortality of 24.0, 16.0, 13.3 and 9.30% while in flowers extracts these were 56.0, 37.3, 32.0 and 10.7% in concentration 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and control, respectively. In each extracts mortality was significantly different from that of control. Toxic effects of both extracts (leaves and flowers) were more profound against the Coptotermes heimi than Heterotermes indicola during these ten days of feeding. Also the flowers extracts caused more mortality than the leaves for both spp. suggesting the availability of high contents of toxic materials in flowers.