Growth inhibitory activity of Annona squamosa against polyphagous pest Spodoptera litura (F)

The present study was conducted to evaluate the insect growth inhibitory effect of seed extract of the medicinal plant, Annona squamosa L. against Spodoptera litura F., under laboratory conditions. The four solvent seed extracts of A. squamosa namely, methanol, ethyl acetate, hexane and chloroform at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5% concentrations were tested against third instar larvae of S. litura. The results showed that, among the four solvent extracts, methanol solvent extracts of A. squamosa at 2% and 2.5% concentration was found to be effective. It has been observed that methanol extract at 2.5% resulted in 97.5% mortality with no malformations in the developmental stages. The result indicated that the response of larval mortality and deformities in the developmental stages was dose dependent.