There is a high global demand for plant proteins owing to the rising populations and an increased production of plant proteins is a sustainable approach to meet the ever-increasing nutritionaldemands
India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of pulses in the world and accounts for 45% of the total global production of
Among the bruchids in South India,
To save the pulses from insect pests, synthetic chemical insecticides are routinely applied, resulting in poisonous residues. A much safer alternate method is the use of plant products to control insect pests
Piperadine alkaloids and other phytochemicals from
In this study,
Dried fruits of
Good quality
Weighed quantities (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 g) of each plant powder of
Two newly emerged mating pairs of
The total eggs in the control and in the treatment containers were noted. The percent oviposition deterrence was calculated
Percent OD = [(NC – NT) / NC] x100
where OD = oviposition deterrence; NC = total number of control eggs and NT = total number of treatment eggs
Failure of eclosion is inferred by the absence of emergence holes in pulses with a single egg even after 30 days. The number of adults that eclosed in each treatment group and the control were noted. The number of larvae that eclosed and those that failed to eclose was cross-checked with the total number of eggs laid and the eclosion failure percentage was calculated.
All the five tested plant powders caused decrease in the number of eggs laid with increasing concentration. Among the five plant powders
Plant | Conc. (in g) | Time Interval (h) | Total Eggs | Percent eclosion failure | ||||
24 | 48 | 72 | 96 | 120 | ||||
No. of eggs | ||||||||
Control | 16±1.14 | 19±2.07 | 18±1.58 | 14±1.48 | 9±1.30 | 77.2±5.21 | 7.72±2.24 | |
P. longum | 0.2 | 14±1.14 | 17±2.17 | 15±1.14 | 11±1.22 | 8±1.30 | 65.0±1.22 | 8.92±1.26 |
0.4 | 14±1.58 | 16±1.48 | 12±1.30 | 9±0.83 | 6±1.30 | 56.6±3.91 | 9.89±1.34 | |
0.6 | 9±1.14 | 11±1.52 | 7±1.00 | 5±1.30 | 4±0.89 | 36.0±4.82 | 10.89±3.43 | |
0.8 | 7±1.64 | 9±1.30 | 6±1.14 | 3±0.83 | 1±0.89 | 25.8±3.70 | 12.41±2.97 | |
A. vasica | 0.2 | 15±1.22 | 17±1.92 | 16±2.07 | 11±1.14 | 9±1.30 | 67.6±5.81 | 7.97±1.42 |
0.4 | 11±1.92 | 15±1.58 | 14±1.48 | 10±1.52 | 8±1.67 | 58.0±3.39 | 9.31±1.88 | |
0.6 | 10±1.58 | 14±1.64 | 11±1.67 | 10±1.14 | 7±1.14 | 53.4±3.91 | 10.06±1.64 | |
0.8 | 9±0.84 | 12±1.14 | 10±1.58 | 7±1.48 | 5±1.79 | 43.6±3.44 | 11.08±1.96 | |
I. verum | 0.2 | 14±1.79 | 18±1.41 | 16±1.48 | 12±1.67 | 9±1.00 | 69.8±1.92 | 8.59±1.40 |
0.4 | 12±1.30 | 17±1.64 | 14±1.95 | 8±1.14 | 6±1.58 | 57.8±4.43 | 9.35±1.86 | |
0.6 | 10±1.30 | 16±1.52 | 11±1.30 | 7±1.34 | 5±1.00 | 50.2±2.68 | 9.57±1.66 | |
0.8 | 7±1.92 | 8±1.10 | 6±1.30 | 6±0.89 | 2±1.00 | 28.4±3.65 | 13.95±4.95 | |
C. zeylanicum | 0.2 | 13±1.14 | 15±1.48 | 13±1.92 | 9±1.22 | 7±1.14 | 57.0±3.24 | 12.27±1.59 |
0.4 | 9±1.14 | 12±1.22 | 8±0.71 | 7±1.10 | 3±0.84 | 39.0±1.87 | 14.8±1.60 | |
0.6 | 8±1.14 | 10±1.58 | 6±1.00 | 4±1.10 | 2±0.84 | 29.6±2.70 | 16.90±2.02 | |
0.8 | 5±0.84 | 8±1.14 | 4±1.30 | 2±1.14 | 0±0.55 | 18.25±1.30 | 18.83±3.83 | |
S. aromaticum | 0.2 | 10±1.48 | 12±1.58 | 9±0.84 | 5±0.71 | 3±0.84 | 38.8±2.77 | 13.90±2.26 |
0.4 | 7±1.14 | 10±1.58 | 8±0.84 | 4±1.14 | 2±1.00 | 31.6±3.78 | 16.01±2.83 | |
0.6 | 6±1.14 | 8±1.30 | 5±1.22 | 2±0.84 | 0±0.55 | 21.8±1.79 | 18.53±4.09 | |
0.8 | 4±1.00 | 5±1.64 | 1±0.89 | 0±0.55 | 0±0.45 | 10.8±3.56 | 22.06±5.38 |
Eclosion failure increased with the increase in plant powder concentration. Highest eclosion failure was noted for
Among the five plant powders
Plant | Quantity of plant powder (in g) | |||
0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 | |
Percent oviposition deterrence | ||||
P. longum | 15.54 ± 5.01bc | 28.37 ± 6.29a | 53.47 ± 7.02a | 66.91 ± 4.60a |
A. vasica | 21.85 ± 4.97b | 26.71 ± 2.34a | 28.83 ± 4.52b | 42.93 ± 4.66b |
I. verum | 9.38 ± 3.09c | 24.82 ± 7.9a | 34.82 ± 4.28b | 62.96 ± 6.22a |
C. zeylanicum | 25.76 ± 8.21b | 49.22 ± 4.58b | 61.44 ± 4.45a | 76.33 ± 2.25c |
S. aromaticum | 49.63 ± 3.57a | 58.86 ± 6.2b | 71.59 ± 3.56c | 85.77 ± 5.41d |
Means in a column, superscripted by the same alphabets not significantly different among themselves (Tukey’s test of multiple comparisons)
Botanical insecticides are proved to be better alternatives to synthetic pesticides and world over studies are conducted for finding out plant products with significantly high insecticidal potential. In addition to crop pests, stored product pests are also controlled using plant-based pesticides. Some botanicals are used to protect the stored pulses from bruchid infestations which otherwise have to be managed with toxic synthetic chemical pesticides.
Use of chemical pesticides on table-ready products like grains and pulses is much more injurious than using them on field crops. Exclusive stored product pesticides are slightly expensive but it is advisable to use them in grain storage, since such pesticides will not pose problems to the eventual consumer of the grains, if all the necessary precautions are followed. Pesticides meant for field application should not be used on stored grains. Grains treated with pesticides should be consumed only after the ‘waiting period’ which depends on the type of pesticide used, mode of application and the residual period
For pests of stored grains that deposit eggs on the surface of the grains, agents that deter oviposition are highly desirable. The eggs of
This study demonstrated the effectiveness of selected spice powders in greatly reducing the oviposition potential of
The leaf extract of
The plant extract causes ovarian changes similar to those caused by chemosterilants by negating the female reproductive system. It was reported that
Oviposition inhibitors have the advantage of attacking a pest at the start of its life cycle. The insect is deterred from laying its eggs on cereals/grains, thus preventing the pest population from increasing
Acetonic extract of
Compared to the powders, the essential oils of
As per the results of the present study,
Concentration of plant products (g) | Source | Sum of Squares | Df | Mean Square | F | Critical P value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.2 | Between Groups | 4744.527 | 4 | 1186.132 | 39.746 | 0.000 |
Within Groups | 596.853 | 20 | 29.843 | |||
Total | 5341.380 | 24 | ||||
0.4 | Between Groups | 4767.736 | 4 | 1191.934 | 34.441 | 0.000 |
Within Groups | 692.152 | 20 | 34.608 | |||
Total | 5459.888 | 24 | ||||
0.6 | Between Groups | 6437.372 | 4 | 1609.343 | 64.201 | 0.000 |
Within Groups | 501.346 | 20 | 25.067 | |||
Total | 6938.719 | 24 | ||||
0.8 | Between Groups | 5175.695 | 4 | 1293.924 | 55.248 | 0 .000 |
Within Groups | 468.409 | 20 | 23.420 | |||
Total | 5644.104 | 24 |
At 0.05 level the oviposition deterrence of various plant products at each concentration are significantly different.
Further, Tukey analyses revealed the significance of the statistical deviations between the individual responses of the five different plant products on oviposition deterrence at each concentration level [
Extended formulation time and high investment costs are some limitations associated with the use of botanical extracts in pest control
This study confirms the potent insecticidal property of