Antifeedant and growth disruptive effects of various plant products on Spodoptera litura F. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Abstract
Four of the 38 plant products evaluated, viz., seeds of Azadirachta indica A. juss, bulbs of Gloriosa superba L., rhizomes of Acorus calamus (L.) and roots of Withonia somnifera L., showed significant antifeedant activity, against S. litura protecting the leaves from larval feeding by 97.48, 89.62, 86.40 and 80.21 per cent, respectively. Larval mortality from Ruellia tuberosa L. (whole plants), G. superba (bulbs), W. somnifera (roots) and Croton oblongifolius L. (barks) was significantly higher (70.00%) than that from other products. Tagetes erecta L. (leaves), Parthenium hysterophorus (stem, flowers), A.calamus (rhizomes), T.erecta (roots) and Trigonella foenum graceum L. (seeds) caused larval-pupal intermediaries, while pupal mortality occurred due to feeding on Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume (leaves), Cymbopogon martini L. (shoots) and Nigella sativa L. (seeds).
