Insecticidal Activities of Some Botanicals on the Three Species of Callosobruchus

Nine medicinal and aromatic plants were evaluated for their efficacy as contact insecticides on the three species of Callosobruchus, i.e. C. maculatus, C. analis and C. chinensis. Aqueous extract of twelve plants, i.e. Synzgium aromaticum (clove floral buds), Azadirachta indica (neem leaves), Allium sativum (garlic bulbs), Piper nigrum (black pepper seeds), Thevetia peruviana (kaner leaves), Moringa oliefera (moringa leaves, flowers, drumstick and root), Prosopis cineraria (khejri leaves), Eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus leaves) and Curcuma longa (turmeric rhizome) were tested against all the three species of bruchids. The extracts were applied at doses of 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 ml/20 g to cowpea seeds by filter paper diffusion method. The higher dose of flower and leaf extracts from M. oleifera, seed extract from P. nigrum and leaves extract from A. indica have shown potent insecticidal activity against all the three Callosobruchus species. Use of these botanicals can be an ecofriendly alternative to the chemical insecticides against the Callosobruchus species.