LC50 Value of Paraquat (24%) in Drosophila Melanogaster Larvae

The objective of present investigation was to determine the Lethal Concentration 50 (LC50) of commercially available paraquat. a herbicide, at 24 % dilution with second instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster. For this purpose the second instar larvae, were exposed to different concentrations of paraquat (20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 μl/ml). Mortality was decided on the basis of lack of movement or no response to prodding. Probit analysis was done on the dose-response data in order to find LC50. The LC50 was found to be 22.9 μl/ml for 24 % paraquat in second instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster.