Laboratory and field evaluation of the aphidicidal activity of moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys pubescens ) leaf extract and identification of the active components

BACKGROUND Botanical pesticides increasingly play important roles in the control of agricultural pests. In this study, the aphidicidal effect of moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys pubescens ) extract against mustard aphid was confirmed, the main active compounds identified, and aphidicidal mechanism of the most active compound established. RESULTS When the treatment concentration was 10.0 g L −1 , the corrected mortality of bamboo leaf extract (BE) was 53.22 ± 5.20% and the petroleum ether component of bamboo leaf extract (PE) reached 82.76 ± 4.50%, which also showed a synergistic effect with imidacloprid. Four flavonoids were identified as the main active components in the BE via activity tracking and phytochemical method. Isoorientin had an LC 50 of 313.22 mg L −1 , and affected the activities of acetylcholinesterase and peroxidase significantly, revealing the possible aphidicidal mechanism. When the treatment of 11.1% PE·imidacloprid was 200 mL, the control effect was 99.07%, which was better than that observed with 10% of imidacloprid or 0.5% of matrine. CONCLUSIONS These data provide a better understanding of the aphidicidal activity and aphidicidal mechanism of moso bamboo leaf extract and the most active compound, isoorientin. This will help in developing a more effective botanical aphicide. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry