In-vitro Assessment and Characterization of Pongamia Seed Oil-based Nano-Emulsion and ZnO Nano-formulations as Environmentally Sustainable Alternatives for the Control of Aulocophora foveicollis Lucas (Coleoptera-Chrysomelidae)

Nano-emulsion formulation and ZnO-loaded nano-emulsion system was developed using the seed oil of Pongamia pinnata (L) to control the serious pest of cucurbit crops Aulocophora foveicollis Lucas.

The formulations were prepared using high energy emulsification method (utrasonication) and were further characterized to determine the droplet size, polydispersity index, zeta potential using dynamic light scattering (DLS). Further, thermodynamic stress studies, viscosity, pH, UV- Visible spectroscopic analysis, TEM, ATR-FTIR analysis were carried out to evaluate the stability of nano-emulsion formulations. The efficacy of the prepared formulations is tested against the target pest (red pumpkin beetle) in vitro.

The results of characterization confirm the stability of nano-emulsion systems. The insecticidal efficacy of ZnO-loaded nano-emulsion system showed highest mortality (73.31%) and LC₅₀ value was found to be 11.24% v/v. These results suggests that the formulated nano-emulsion system from the seed oil of pongamia holds potential to reduce the reliance on synthetic pesticides and offer environmentally sustainable alternative for the control of the insect pest.