Antifeedant and Insecticidal Activity of Plant Extracts Againstarora2016

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Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. DOI 10.1007/s40011-015-0697-4

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Antifeedant and Insecticidal Activity of Plant Extracts Against Spodoptera litura (Fab.) and Lipaphis erysimi Sumitra Arora1

•

Navin Mogha1 • Tulsi Bhardwaj1 • Chitra Srivastava2

Received: 5 May 2015 / Revised: 18 September 2015 / Accepted: 7 December 2015  The National Academy of Sciences, India 2016

Abstract The solvent extracts of four plants, viz. Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thw. (PL), Paederia foetida (PF), Limonia acidissima L. (LA) and Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. (BA), from different families, were screened for their antifeedant, insecticidal and insect growth regulatory potential against important crop pests. The solvent extracts, namely methanol, petroleum ether, chloroform and water, of all four plants were tested for their bio-activity against lepidopteran insect pest, Spodoptera litura; and sucking insect pest, L. erysimi (mustard aphid). It was observed that Polyalthia longifolia (methanol extract) exhibited maximum potency with least concentration of 0.1 % (*1080 ppm) to give 50 % antifeedancy, followed by P. longifolia (petroleum ether) with a value of 0.2 % (*2360 ppm) and Limonia acidissima (methanol) and L. acidissima (petroleum ether). The least active compound for antifeedancy was found in the aqueous extract of Balanites aegyptica. Out of 16 plant extracts bio-assayed, methanol showed potential antifeedancy when compared with chloroform, water and petroleum ether extracts. But chloroform and petroleum ether extracts of all four plants gave very promising insecticidal activity against aphids, in & Sumitra Arora [email protected] Navin Mogha [email protected] Tulsi Bhardwaj [email protected] Chitra Srivastava [email protected] 1

ICAR-National Research Centre for Integrated Pest Management, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110012, India

2

Division of Entomology, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, India

comparison to other two extracts. L. acidissima (water), B. aegyptica (methanol), P. longifolia (methanol) and P. foetida (water) did not give any insecticidal activity with 50 % lethal concentration (LC50) up to 0.1 % as maximum concentration. Keywords Plant extracts  Antifeedancy  Insecticidal activity  Indigenous knowledge

Introduction Use of chemical pesticides has played a positive role in increasing agricultural productivity and making India selfsufficient in food grain production and export market. They have become essential inputs in increasing agricultural production by preventing crop loss before and after harvest, to keep pace with the ever increasing demand for food, feed and fiber. But indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides and livestock drugs is reported to create toxicity, not only to non target organisms at fields but also many other components of environment [1]. This diverts the use of synthetic pesticides to botanical based or indigenous practices for plant protection. The use of plant extracts has been a part of indigenous practice since the ages. The farmers of Gujarat region, are using a few plant extracts in plant protection as their indigenous technical knowledge, for years. The aim of this study was to explore alternate options for synthetic insecticides, by validating farmer’s indigenous knowledge, and screening the plant extracts, for management of economically important insect pests, like lepidopteran and sucking pests. The paper presents screening of extracts of four plants, which were practiced by farmers since years for crop pest management. The plant Paederia foetida L. (http://www.

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issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=632&fr=1&sts) has been practiced in plant protection by farmers at West Champaran, Bihar; Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. (http:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3210005/) at Savarkundala, Dist. Amreli, Gujarat; Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3 249904) at east Champaran, Bihar; and Limonia acidissima L. (http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/31505) at Dist. Sabarkantha, Gujarat. It has been reported by Oerke et al. [2] that about 42 % loss in global output is due to insect pests, diseases and weeds despite the use of plant protection options. An average of 15 % of crops worldwide is currently lost to insects, so controlling pests is crucial in achieving the goal of increasing crop yield [3]. Tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura Fab. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is one of the most important pests of agricultural crops which is widely distributed in the Asian tropics; and known to feed on 112 cultivated crops all over the world [4, 5]. Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach, (Aphididae: Homoptera), commonly known as mustard aphid, is one of the most devastating biotic stresses in mustard crop with distribution in many countries [6], and Brassica crops throughout the world, leading to yield loss ranging from 9 to 96 % [7] and 15 % oil reduction [8] in India. Both the adults and nymphs of this aphid cause damage to mustard plants from seedling to maturity, but maximum damage is caused at flowering stage. In case of severe infestation, plant fails to develop pod resulting in loss of plant vigor and stunted growth [9]. The use of synthetic chemicals are being discouraged because of growing concerns about health and environmental safety as the use of synthetic chemicals leaves toxic residues in consumable agricultural commodities. The survey of monitoring of farm-gate samples in different parts of the country recorded pesticide residues above Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) [10–13]. Due to the problems related with indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides like resistance and effect on non-target organisms, there is diversion to plant based products. Many researchers have focused on the search for active naturally occurring essential plant products. Plant extracts of many higher plants have been reported to exhibit antibacterial, antifungal and insecticidal properties under laboratory trials [14–18]. Plant metabolites and plant based pesticides appear to be better alternatives as they are known to have minimal environmental impact and danger to consumers in contrast to the synthetic pesticides [19]. This led the authors to screen in vitro a large number of plant extracts for insecticidal activity against important insect pests.

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Material and Methods Plant Material Fresh disease free plant parts (fruits and leaves) were collected from different regions of country. The extracts were prepared from different parts of plants, i.e. fruits of Balanites aegytiaca (from Dist. Amreli, Gujarat); aerial parts (leaves with stems; without roots) of Paederia foetida (from west Champaran, Bihar); Leaves of Limonia acididssima (from Dist. Sabarkantha, Gujarat); and seeds of Polyanthia longifolia (from east Champaran, Bihar). Preparation of Extracts Method 1: Preparation of Aqueous Extract For aqueous extractions, the stem, leaf and seed samples (100 g) of plants were thoroughly washed, blot dried (30–40 min) followed by drying under shade for another 48–72 h before making powder, using blender. Ten gm dry powder was soaked in 200 ml distilled water and allowed to boil on water bath at 100 C till the total volume of water was reduced to half. The solution was filtered using stainless steel sieve followed by Whatman filter paper No 1. The excess water was evaporated under reduced pressure at 50 C using rotary evaporator. The sample was sterilized at 120 C for 30 min., which served as the stock. Dry extracts were stored in air tight amber glass vials [20]. Method 2: Preparation of Organic Solvent Extract Thoroughly washed mature stem, leaf and seed samples of all the test plants were shade dried and then powdered with the help of a blender. Approximately, 10 g of plant powder was sequentially extracted with 100 ml of petroleum ether followed by chloroform and methanol in a 250 ml screw caped flask. The flasks were put on rotary shaker for 3–4 h, at 120 rpm. After shaking the materials in solvents, the flasks were left overnight for cold maceration. The extracts were filtered through Watman filter paper no. 1, impregnated with same solvent. During filtration, small amount (2 g) of anhydrous sodium sulphate was put on filter paper to avoid any water contents in filtrate. The organic solvents were concentrated to near dryness under reduced pressure at temperature below 40 C. Dry extracts were stored in airtight brown bottle until further use. All the extracts were subjected to antifungal activity against the test fungi [21].

Antifeedant and Insecticidal Activity of Plant Extracts Against Spodoptera litura (Fab.) and…

Method 3: Extraction Using Soxhlet Apparatus Thoroughly washed mature stem, leaf and seed samples of all the test plants were individually shade dried and then powdered with the help of a blender. The plant powder (10 g) was extracted with 200 ml organic solvent, in a flask of 500 ml capacity, using soxhlet apparatus. Three repeat reflux were carried out for each plant sample (total time of 6–8 h). After extraction, the organic solvent was concentrated to near dryness under reduced pressure maintaining temperature below 40 C. The method 1 was followed to prepare water extracts of all plants. The methanol and petroleum ether extracts were prepared following method 2, while chloroform extracts were prepared using method 3. Rearing of Test Insects Spodoptera litura Laboratory culture of S. litura was maintained at 25 ± 1 C, 60 ± 5 % relative humidity and 16:8 h photo: scotophase on artificial diet. An artificial diet of the composition given in Table 1 was used in the study. Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds procured from market were washed thoroughly and soaked overnight in water. Soaked seeds were ground in an electric grinder thoroughly with the addition of 400 ml double distilled water. Wheat bran, wheat germ, ascorbic acid, casein, yeast powder, methyl parahydroxybenzoate, sorbic acid, cholesterol, streptomycin sulphate, formaldehyde and multivitamin (ABDEC drops) were added to the ground material and mixed thoroughly. Agar was boiled in 200 ml double distilled water with constant stirring till it attained necessary consistency and then ground with rest of the ingredients once again. The whole mixture was poured into plastic Table 1 Ingredients of diet for rearing Spodoptera litura F Kidney bean

65 g

Wheat germ

65 g

Casein

3g

Ascorbic acid

4g

Yeast-powder

25 g

Agar

10 g

Sorbic acid

0.92 g

M-Parabien Cholestrol

0.4 g 0.25 g

Multi-vitamin

1 Capsule

Streptomycin

0.1 g

Formaldehyde

2 ml

Sunflower oil

2 drop

Distilled water

600 ml

trays and covered with thin plastic film. After cooling, the diet was kept in refrigerator and used after 24 h. Neonates, upon hatching from egg, were transferred to glass jars containing fresh thoroughly washed castor leaves. Five-day old larvae were transferred to plastic boxes (30 cm long, 20 cm wide and 7 cm high) containing pieces of diet in groups of two larvae. Boxes were cleaned daily and larvae were fed with fresh diet. When the larvae exhibited gut purge and entered into non feeding wandering stage they were transferred to boxes containing saw dust for pupation. Pupae were collected after 4–5 days and disinfected with 0.02 % sodium hypochlorite. Upon emergence the adults were transferred to oviposition cages. Adults were fed with 20 % honey solution containing vitamin C, E and streptomycin sulphate. Castor leaves with their petiole dipped in water were provided for oviposition inside the cages. All the containers used for rearing were periodically disinfected with Protasan DS (Qualigens). This enabled to maintain a disease-free and healthy stock culture for further experiments. Larvae for experimental purposes were reared on washed and dried castor leaves in plastic boxes. Care was taken to avoid overcrowding and strict sanitation was maintained to prevent any infection. Mustard Aphids The mustard leaves, along with aphids (Lipaphis erysimi) on them, were collected from the experimental mustard fields, with no chemical treatment (control), at the farm of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. The leaves along with adult insects were left for 1 day in the rectangular plastic box, covered with net lid, in the culture room at a temperature of 27 ± 1 C and RH of 65 ± 2 % to get acclimatized. Second day (or after keeping for 2 h), aphids got detached from leaves and collected in the box. The freely moving adult aphids were taken with the help of small brush and used for bioassay. Stock and Test Solution The test compounds were weighed to prepare stock solution in the corresponding solvent. Further concentrations were prepared through serial dilution in solvent emulsifier water (SEW) with Tween 80 as emulsifier and level of solvent and emulsifier were maintained at 5 and 0.5 % respectively. Bio-assay of Plant Extracts Against Insect Pests Aphids Insecticidal activity using contact toxicity method: Fresh and clean mustard leaves were procured from the field. For

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bioassay studies, cut pieces of leaves of 3 cm2 area were dipped in each concentration of the test compounds for 2 s and then the solution was drained out and pieces were kept for drying. Five replications of each treatment along with control (with emulsifier water) were taken for bio-assay studies. Treated leaves were kept in the wide mouth glass bottles with 10 adult aphids in each replicate. Bottles were covered with muslin cloth and kept in the controlled atmosphere at 27 ± 1 C and 65 % RH. Mortality was observed after 24 h of treatment. Percent mortality was corrected through Abbots formula [22]. The mortality data was subjected for probit analysis and LC50 value of each extract was calculated by Statistical Package (INDOSTAT).

48 h, single larva is placed in plastic vial containing pieces of normal diet. Normal diet is replenished every day till pupation. Observations on larval and pupal weight (before treatment, 3 days after treatment, 7 days after treatment and just after pupation), larval mortality, larval-pupal intermediates, malformed pupa, pupal mortality, pupaladult intermediates, malformed adults and normal adults were recorded. From the data collected for insect growth regulatory activity per cent reduction in larval/pupal weight was calculated as follows. Per cent reduction in larval=pupal weight Weight gain in control  weight gain in treatment ¼  100 Weight gain in control

Spodoptera litura Antifeedant activity using no-choice method: The antifeedant activity of all sixteen plant extracts were assessed against 7 day old (3rd instar) larvae of S. litura on castor leaves. Leaf discs were punched out from castor leaves. They were dipped thoroughly in each of the concentration and air dried. Moist filter paper discs were placed in glass petri plates (9 cm diameter) on which a single treated leaf disc was kept. Single third instar larvae of S. litura was released into each petri plates. Ten replicates were kept for each concentration. Leaf discs treated with solvent emulsified water served as control. The unfed area in each treatment was measured using a Licor- 3100 leaf area meter after 24 h. Larval mortality and pupal deformities were also recorded. The per cent antifeedant activity was calculated based on the formula of Singh and Pant [23] and the data were subjected to analysis of variance. AI50 is actually the lethal dose for antifeedant activity for 50 % population of insects.

All the data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), after transformation of data, whereever necessary in a complete randomized design (CRD). The data were subjected to probit analysis using Finney [24] method, to determine AI50.

Results and Discussion Insecticidal Activity Against Mustard Aphids The chloroform and petroleum ether extracts of all four plants gave very promising insecticidal activity against aphids, in comparison to other two extracts. The statistical analysis of observed data is presented in Table 2; and it was evaluated by performing one way ANOVA using Origin Pro 8 software. The insecticidal activity of different plant extracts was observed to be significantly different (P \ 0.05). Limonia acidissima (water), Balanites aegyp-

Per cent antifeedant activity Leaf disc consumed by the larvae in the control  leaf disc consumed by the larvae in the treated  100 ¼ Leaf disc consumed by the larvae in the control þ leaf disc consumed by the larvae in the treated Number of dead larvae Per cent larval mortality ¼  100 Total number of treated larvae Insect growth regulatory (IGR) activity: To test the effect of chronic exposure of test compounds on S. litura larvae, they were fed with castor leaf treated with different concentrations of plant extracts. Leaves in control were treated with carrier solvent only. Pre-starved (2 h), second instar larvae were placed in glass bottle jars (15 cm height, 5 cm diameter) containing treated castor leaves. After

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tica (methanol), Polyalthia longifolia (methanol) and Paederia foetida (water) did not show any insecticidal activity (LC50) up to 0.1 % of maximum concentration. The promising and maximum potency of insecticidal activity was observed for extracts of Polyalthia longifolia (petroleum ether) and Balanites aegyptica (chloroform) leading to LC50 value of only 10 ppm. The chloroform

Antifeedant and Insecticidal Activity of Plant Extracts Against Spodoptera litura (Fab.) and… Table 2 Statistical analysis for insecticidal activity (LC50 values) of plant extracts against Aphids LC50 values (ppm)

Plant extracts

DF

Sum of squares

Mean square

F value

Prob [ F

Limonia acidissima (methanol)

8210

8

15.16667

1.89583

10.6641

5.98E-05

Limonia acidissima (petroleum ether)

7770

8

30.625

3.82812

10.7666

5.65E-05

60

8

126.625

15.8281

13.1901

1.63E-05

Limonia acidissima (chloroform) Balanites aegyptica (water) Balanites aegyptica (petroleum ether) Balanites aegyptica (chloroform) Polyalthia longifolia (water)

30130

8

19.83333

2.47917

3.09896

0.0282

120

8

113.625

14.2031

15.9785

4.82E-06

10

8

136.9583

17.1198

21.3997

7.08E-07

6820

8

19.29167

2.41146

5.42578

0.00245

Polyalthia longifolia (petroleum ether)

10

8

154.2917

19.2865

19.7248

1.22E-06

Polyalthia longifolia (chloroform)

50

8

191.625

23.9531

16.842

3.43E-06

Paederia foetida (petroleum ether)

1500

8

58.66667

7.33333

12.6923

2.07E-05

180

8

72

9

8.80435

1.84E-04

Paederia foetida (chloroform)

100 80 60 40 pet ether chloroform methanol

20 0 BA

LA

PL

water PF

Fig. 1 Insecticidal activity of different plant extracts against aphids (Y-axis: % mortality of insects). Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. (BA), Limonia acidissima L. (LA), Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thw. (PL), and Paederia foetida (PF)

extract of Polyalthia longifolia and Limonia acidissima also gave significant insecticidal activity against mustard aphids giving LC50 values as 50 and 60 ppm, respectively. The results for percent of insect mortality are presented in Fig. 1, for all 16 plant extracts with their percent mortality displayed on Y-axis. The graph indicates better performance of chloroform and petroleum ether solvent extracts of all plants for insect mortality. Antifeedancy Against S. litura Based on observations of uneaten area of the leaf discs by insects, measured using leaf area meter, and as per the screening results of various 16 plant extracts for antifeedancy against Spodoptera litura, it was observed that Polyalthia longifolia (methanol extract) exhibited maximum potency with least concentration of 0.1 % to give AI50 of 1080 ppm, followed by Polyalthia longifolia (petroleum ether) with a value of 2360 ppm and Limonia acidissima (methanol) and Limonia acidissima (petroleum

ether) (Table 3). The least active compound for antifeedancy was observed as Balanites aegyptica (water). The fractions of Polyalthia longifolia (methanol extract), Polyalthia longifolia (petroleum ether), Limonia acidissima (methanol) and Limonia acidissima (petroleum ether) could, therefore, be bio-assayed for further studies. The results of extracts of chloroform and methanol from Paederia foetida and Balanites aegyptica, respectively are not included in the report as these could not give 50 % inhibition in feeding, even up to a maximum concentration of 5 % level. Moreover Balanites aegyptica (chloroform and methanol), Limonia acidissima (chloroform), Paederia foetida (water, petroleum ether and methanol) were bioassayed up to a concentration of 5 % level for antifeedancy. The confidence limits for AI50 are provided in parenthesis in Table 3. Insect Growth Regulator Against S. litura The IGR of the all the sixteen extracts of four plants revealed that average weight gain, in treated concentration was equivalent to the weight gain in the control till 7th day of observation. In all the extracts there was negligible larval mortality after 3rd and 7th day of treatment. No larval-pupal or pupal-adult intermediate was observed. Number of normal adults was found to be more than 11 out of 15, in every case. Therefore it was observed that there is no IGR activity observed for any of the plant extract. Ulrichs et al. [25] have reported antifeedant activity of leaf extracts of Portesia coarctata Takeoka against S. litura. Sreelatha et al. [26] reported a new benzil derivative from Derris scandens for antifeedancy against the insect. Antifeedant activity has been reported against S. litura in the acetone leaf extracts of Azadirachta indica [27]. The ethanol leaf extracts of Tribulus terrestris caused morphological deformities in pupae and adults of S. litura

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S. Arora et al. Table 3 Antifeedancy of plant extracts against Spodoptera litura larvae Compound

Heterogeneity

Slope 2

AI50 (ppm)

df

v

b ± SE

BA (petroleum ether)

4

7.608

0.4307 ± 0.066

BA (water)

4

1.06

0.2452 ± 0.063

9150 (1880–44,520)

BA (chloroform)

6

3.137

0.4009 ± 0.047

14,820 (7610–28,870)

LA (water)

4

0.377

0.4921 ± 0.068

5980 (2810–12,700)

LA (petroleum ether)

4

6.98

0.5026 ± 0.067

3460 (1890–6330)

LA (methanol)

4

1.998

0.4169 ± 0.065

LA (chloroform) PL (water)

5 4

9.4 2.407

0.6288 ± 0.062 0.7163 ± 0.072

PL (methanol)

4

2.169

0.3390 ± 0.063

1080 (530–2200)

PL (chloroform)

4

4.923

0.5619 ± 0.070

7380 (3810–14,320)

PL (petroleum ether)

4

1.278

0.6950 ± 0.070

PF (water)

4

0.787

0.4785 ± 0.078

47,550 (21,280–106,240)

PF (methanol)

6

2.776

0.3427 ± 0.052

52,840 (21,440–130,250)

PF (petroleum ether)

5

1.386

0.4264 ± 0.058

31,585 (14,760–67,550)

4820 (2240–10,360)

3250 (1590–6630) 15,870 (10,250–24,580) 4030 (2580–6280)

2360 (1570–3530)

BA, Balanites aegyptica; LA, Limonia acidissima; PL, Polyalthia longifolia; PF, Paederia foetida; df, degree of freedom

due to juvenile effect as reported by Gunasekaran and Chellaiah [28]. Sahayaraj [29] reported plant extracts of A. indica, Citrus sinensis, Vitex negundo and Zingiber officinale for their antifeedant and growth inhibition activity against S. litura. The deterrent effects were found in all plant extracts includng V. negundo and root extracts of Pedalium murex [29]. Rathi and Gopalakrishnan [30] also reported the toxic effects of methanol extracts of Synedrella nodiflora against S. litura. Recently Elumalai et al. [31] has reported that botanicals and certain medicinal plant essential oils possess antifeeedant property against S. litura. Antifeedant and growth inhibitory activities of Syzygium lineare [32] and flower extract of C. fistula [33] has been reported against S. litura. The crude acetone extracts of Tectona grandis, Tamarindus indica, Madhuca indica, Momordica charantia and Jatropha curcas showed significant antifeedant activity against S. litura [34]. Rathi and Gopalakrishnan [30] also observed good antifeedant activity of ethyl acetate leaf extract of Pergularia daemia against S. litura. The findings of present study corroborate with the earlier findings of Srivastava and Guleria [35], where thirtyfour plant extracts were tested for their insecticidal activity against mustard aphid; and up to 40 % insecticidal activity was recorded at 1 % level concentration. Insecticidal activity of chloroform, methanol extracts and oils from nayantara, Vinca rosea and bottle brush, Callistemon lanceolatus were tested against the mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi under laboratory condition. Chloroform extract of V. rosea (LC50 = 0.409 %) was found to

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be the most toxic when applied by leaf residue method followed by methanol (0.613 %) and oil (1.031 %). In case of C. lanceolatus, the descending order of toxicity was methanol (0.965 %), chloroform (0.987 %) and oil (1.807 %). Singh and Lal [36] assessed seven different botanical leaf extracts of neem (Azadirachta indica), congress grass (Parthenium hysterophorus), lemmon grass (Cymbopogon citrates), bhang (Cymbopogon citrates), garlic (Allium sativum), punch phuli (Lantana camera) and marigold (Tagetes erecta) against mustard aphid under field. The botanical extracts showed varying effect on aphid population. All the treatments of plant leaf extracts showed insecticidal activity, but leaf extracts of Indian neem followed by punch phuli and garlic reduced the aphid population to a great extent. The Polyalthia longifolia, exhibiting maximum potency, belongs to family Annonaceae and is known for presence of clerodane diterpenoids and alkaloids in various parts of the plant [37]. The insecticidal activity of family Annonaceae is due to the presence of acetogenin substances that act on mitochondria NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase inhibiting and causing the death of the insects [38]. The methanol extracts of this plant are reported to contain the phytoconstituents such as alkaloids, steroids, tannins, phenols and flavonoids [39]. The phenols, tannins, flavonoids and alkaloids are complex moieties, also present in its seed extracts, which showed higher potentialities towards antioxidant properties [37]. The terpenes present in P. longifolia are reported for antifeedant activity. Gonza´lez-Coloma et al. [40] and Kumari et al. [41] reported that neo-clerodane diterpenoids

Antifeedant and Insecticidal Activity of Plant Extracts Against Spodoptera litura (Fab.) and…

with a 4,18-epoxy fragment in their molecule had antifeedant post-ingestive effects, increasing Spodoptera litura larval mortality as per their antifeedant effects. A GABAmediated antifeedant effect of terpenes has been reported for chrysomelids, aphids and lepidopterans [42, 43]. The feeding of insects could be blocked indirectly by preventing or delaying metamorphosis. For example azadirachtin may disrupt the growth of insects. Therefore, presence of azadirachtin in diet deters the insects to feed [44]. The feeding inhibition could also be at postingestive level by targeting the sensory processing centres localized in the central nervous system. The mechanism of antifeedancy could also be due to blockage of synaptic transmission from gustatory cells or at the level of higher order neuronal elements [45]. The enzymes present in insect saliva, or postingestive effects may lead to some interactions with treated material [46]. In spite of the potential of these plant based pesticides for crop pest management, various challenges are confronted by the researchers and farmers, making their rate of adoption generally low. These are rarely available in commercial form, to be used by farmers, to replace synthetic pesticides. Most of the available data are based on laboratory trials as field data are rare. The efficacy of plant based pesticides is assumed to be low as compared with synthetic chemicals requiring frequent applications to obtain a reasonable degree of crop protection. Therefore, the biggest challenge faced is production, supply and marketing of plant based pesticides. The regulatory system is also not that relaxed to accommodate and facilitate the registration of new products, even if supporting field data is available. There is a need to establish appropriate supply chains that share the benefits of these resources equitably with the local communities from which they are harvested [47].

Conclusion The present investigation gives clear evidence to support and suggest the usage of plant extracts/botanicals for effective control of lepidopteran pest, S.litura, and sucking pest, L. erysimi (mustard aphids). Hence, isolation of the active ingredients responsible for such antifeedant and insecticidal activity could possibly facilitate the new formulations for their bio-activity at lower concentrations, thereby making them economically viable, eco-friendly and socially acceptable products. Use of such plant extracts in combination with other effective plant protection measures could possibly reduce the load of synthetic pesticides, thereby safeguarding the environment from hazards associated with their use and cut down sharply the expenditure in pest management operations [48–50]. The methanol

extracts of the plant, Polyalthia longifolia could, therefore be a better alternative for synthetic pesticides for management of lepidopteran insect pest, Spodoptera litura; and sucking insect pest, Lipaphis erysimi. The future study obviously needs isolation of active ingredients followed by their spectral analysis for quality control of the compound, showing efficacy at 10 ppm (0.001 %). Acknowledgments The research activities were carried out under a project funded by National Innovative Foundation (NIF), Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The authors are grateful to NIF for providing plant extracts and funding the manpower under the research project and Director, NCIPM for facilitating the research at centre. Compliance with ethical standards Conflict of interest study.

There is no conflict of interest involved in the

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