Insecticidal effect of plant extracts on the activity of fruit fly

Abstract

Abstract : The aqueous extracts of leaves of neem (Azadirachta indica), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globules), telakucha (Coccinia indica), mahagony (Swietenia macrophylla), and joba (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) were used to evaluate their repellence, abundance and infestation on fruit fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae) (Diptera: Tephritidae). The repellent effect on the insect was observed in laboratory, and the abundance and infestation activities were studied in ash gourd (Benincasa hispida) in the field. The investigations were done with 1, 2, and 4% extracts of all the selected plants and with an untreated control. The repellent effect of the extracts varied with plant species, concentrations, and exposure time. The results indicated that the repellent effect of the extracts on fruit fly varied from 4.0 ± 2.4 to 60.0 ± 3.2%, where the maximum effect was obtained with 4% neem leaf extract at 1 hour after treatment. The minimum effect was achieved with 1% joba leaf extract at 5- hour after treatment. The plant extract also affected the abundance and infestation of the insect, where 4% neem leaf extract caused the lowest abundance (3.7/30 sweeps) and fruit infestation (8.7%). Among the tested extracts, 4% neem leaf gave better result against B. Cucurbitae, which might be incorporated as an IPM component to manage fruit fly infesting ash gourd in the field.