Insecticidal Activity of Aqueous and Methanol Extracts of Apricot Prunus armeniaca L. Kernels in the Control of Tribolium confusum Duval (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

S. Abdulhay, Hind

	Insecticidal Activity of Aqueous and Methanol Extracts of Apricot Prunus armeniaca L. Kernels in the Control of Tribolium confusum Duval (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
Al-Mustansiriyah Journal of Science
Article 1, Volume 23, Issue 6, 2012, Pages 7-18
Author
Hind S. Abdulhay
Abstract
The present study revealed the insecticidal activity of aqueous and methanol extracts of apricot Prunus armeniaca L. kernels on confused flour beetle Tribolium confusum Duval. Extracts were prepared in the rate of 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg ml-1. Two methods were adopted: the first one consists on an incorporation of water and methanol extracts in the artificial diet of adults and the second concerns an abdominal application on 4th instar larvae and adults. Insect responses varied according to extract and concentration. After 7 days, the LC50 values were estimated to be 54.854 and 4.192 mg ml-1 while, after 14 days were 77.079 and 2.384 mg ml-1 respectively for aqueous and methanol extracts. It was found that T. confusum larvae and adults were more susceptible to the methanol extract compared with aqueous extract. Increasing the concentration and ingestion time increased the toxicity of extract on insect. Extracts topically applied on T. confusum revealed high toxicity caused by methanol and aqueous P. armeniaca kernels extracts. Also, methanol extracts was more active compared to the aqueous extracts. For all extracts, mortality was higher for larvae than adults. It is the first work undertaken on apricot kernels insecticidal activity and its results suggest that apricot kernel extracts could be promising for managing populations and environmentally safe for control confused flour beetle.

Statistics Article View: 72 PDF Download: 8