Efficacy of Azadirachta indica and Datura stramonium Extract with Ethanol against Different Life Stages of Tribolium castinium

Abstract

Tribolium castinium is a devastating stored grain pests of many cereals. Both the larval and adult stages of insect are considered as voracious feeder of cereals. The adult of T. castinium secrete certain type of excretion that give foul smell from grains and make it unfit for consumption. The recent study was conducted in Department of Entomology College of Agriculture Bahauddin Zakariya University, Bahadur sub campus Layyah. Neem (Azadirachta indica)L. and Datura (Datura stramonium)L. ethanol extracts were tested for their repellant and toxicological effects against the larval and adult stages of T. castinium at varying concentrations of 10, 15, and 30ml. The results showed that D. stramonium plant extract recorded highest repellency (86.66%) and the lowest repellency (4.50%) against T. castinium. Minimum mortality was reported at 65% in plant extract of A. indica after an interval of 24 hours at 10ml concentration, and maximum mortality was recorded (90.69%) in plant extract of D. stramonium at 30ml concentration after an interval of 72 hours. The results showed that neem and Datura plant extracts were more effective at repelling and toxicologically acting against T. castinium. The larval stage of T. castinium was also particularly vulnerable to D. stramonium and A. indica ethanol extract.