Insect feeding deterrent and growth inhibitory activities of scopoletin isolated from Artemisia annua against Spilarctia obliqua （Lepidoptera： Noctuidae）

Artemisia annua （Asteraceae） is well known for its antimalarial activities due to presence of the compound artemisinin. We isolated a methoxy coumarin from the stem part of A. annua and confirmed its identity as scopoletin through mass spectral data. The structure was established from 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance （NMR）, 13C-NMR. The compound scopoletin was evaluated for its feeding deterrence and growth inhibitory potential against a noxious lepidopteran insect, Spilartctia obliqua Walker. Scopoletin gave FD50（feeding deterrence of 50%） value of 96.7 μg/g diet when mixed into artificial diet. S. obliqua larvae （12-day-old） exposed to the highest concentration （250μg/g diet） of scopoletin showed 77.1% feeding-deterrence. In a growth inhibitory assay, scopoletin provided 116.9% growth inhibition at the highest dose of 250μg/g diet with a GI50 （growth inhibition of 50%） value of 20.9μg/g diet. Statistical analysis showed a concentrationdependent dose response relationship toward both feeding deterrent and growth inhibitory activities. Artemisinin is found mainly in the leaves of A. annua and not in the stems, which are typically discarded as waste. Therefore identification of scopoletin in stems of A. annua may be important as a source of this material for pest control.

Toxic and Antifeedant Effects of Different Pesticidal Plant Extracts against Beet Armyworm (Spodoptera exigua)

The beet armyworm(BAW),Spodoptera exigua(Lepidoptera:Noctuidae)is a highly destructive pest of vegetables and field crops.Management of beet armyworm primarily relies on synthetic pesticides,which is threatening the beneficial community and environment.Most importantly,the BAW developed resistance to synthetic pesticides with making it difficult to manage.Therefore,alternative and environment-friendly pest management tactics are urgently required.The use of pesticidal plant extracts provides an effective way for a sustainable pest management program.To evaluate the use of pesticidal plant extracts against BAW,we selected six plant species(Lantana camara,Aloe vera,Azadirachta indica,Cymbopogon citratus,Nicotiana tabacum,and Ocimum basilicum)for initial screening experiment.Four out of six plant species such as A.indica,N.tabacum,C.citratus and O.basilicum showed promising mortality of more than 50%.Therefore,we selected these four plant extracts for the subsequent experiments.Through contact bioassay,A.indica showed high mortality 66.63%,followed by the N.tabacum 53.33%,at 10%w/v concentration.Similarly,N.tabacum showed the highest mortality rate,66%at 10%w/v concentration,followed by the A.indica 46%through feeding bioassay.Furthermore,the feeding deterrence assay showed that C.citratus had a high antifeedant index(−50)followed by A.indica(−39),and N.tabacum(−28).In living plant assay,the N.tabacum extract showed a low mean damage score 3.6 on living cotton plant followed by C.citratus 4.5 and A.indica 5.5.Hence,extracts of three plant species provided promising results against the BAW,which can minimize the use of synthetic chemicals,particularly for small landholding farmers.Further studies are also required to evaluate the effects of these plant extract against BAW on cotton plants under field conditions to optimize the further use.

Behavioral and Electrophysiological Responses to Caffeine of Helicoverpa armigera Larvae and H. assulta Larvae

The dual-choices tests of behavioral test were used to study the gustatory behavioral responses to caffeine of Helicoverpa armigera larvae and H. assulta larvae. Electrophysiological responses were studied by electrophysiological tip recording. Behavioral experiments showed that caffeine was a feeding deterrent for both larvae, but it showed a stronger feeding deterring effect on the oligophagous H. assulta . The electrophysiological tip-recording results showed that both H. armigera larvae and H. assulta larvae had one caffeine-sensitive feeding deterrent neuron at the medial sensilla, and the electrophysiological pulse response of H. assulta larvae was significantly stronger than that of H. armigera larvae. Therefore, caffeine had a stronger feeding deterring effect on the oligophagous H. assulta than the polyphagous H. armigera . The difference in behavioral effect was closely related to the sensitivity of to caffeine the feeding deterrent neurons at the medial sensilla.