Open AccessBio-efficacy of crude leaf extracts of Acalypha fruticosa Forssk. against some agriculturally important insect pests
Author(s) -
Manickam Pavunraj,
K. Baskar,
Sundaram Janarthanan,
Muthu Arumugam
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
asian pacific journal of tropical disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.208
H-Index - 33
ISSN - 2222-1808
DOI - 10.1016/s2222-1808(14)60753-2
Subject(s) - spodoptera litura , dichloromethane , traditional medicine , biopesticide , dimethyl sulfoxide , helicoverpa armigera , acetone , toxicology , chemistry , biology , botany , larva , solvent , pesticide , medicine , organic chemistry , agronomy
Objective: To investigate the antifeedant and larvicidal activities of Acalypha fruticosa Forssk.\ud(Euphorbiaceae) (A. fruticosa) leaf extracts.\udMethods: Efficacy of various organic solvent extracts of dichloromethane, acetone, dimethyl\udsulfoxide and aqueous extracts of the leaves of A. fruticosa were evaluated for their feeding\udinhibition and larvicidal activities against third instar larvae of Leucinodes orbonalis (L. orbonalis),\udHelicoverpa armigera (H. armigera), Spodoptera litura (S. litura) and Earias vittella (E. vittella).\udAntifeedant and larvicidal activities were performed by leaf and fruit discs no-choice method at\ud0.625%, 1.25%, 2.5% and 5% concentrations.\udResults: The results revealed that 5% concentration of dichloromethane extract had significant\udantifeedant activity on L. orbonalis (77.1%), H. armigera (66.2%), S. litura (74.8%) and E. vittella\ud(67.2%) followed by acetone, dimethyl sulfoxide and aqueous extracts. The result on larvicidal\udactivity also showed that the 5% concentration of dichloromethane extract exhibited significantly\udhigher larval mortality for L. orbonalis (62.12%), H. armigera (62.14%), S. litura (55.11%) and E.\udvittella (77.15%) when compared to acetone, dimethyl sulfoxide and aqueous extracts.\udConclusions: From this study, it is concluded that the dichloromethane extracts of leaves of A.\udfruticosa could serve as a potential natural pesticide for further exploration of active compounds