In-vitro Response of Cereal Aphid Sitobion avenae (Homoptera: Aphididae) against some Selected Botanical Extracts

Author(s) : Muhammad Rehan Khalid, Muhammad Anjum Aqueel, Muhammad Zeeshan Majeed, Abu Bakar Muhammad Raza

Abstract:

Cereal aphid, Sitobion avenae (Homoptera: Aphididae), is one of the destructive pests of wheat and other crops around the globe. Irrational utilization of highly toxic synthetic chemicals against this particular pest has led to several issues of health and environment. In such case, there is a need to find out the control measures, which are less toxic and friendly to environment. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of aqueous extracts of four indigenous plants, i.e. akk (Calotropis procera), lemon (Citrus limon), neem (Azadirachta indica) and dhatura (Datura alba), against S. avenae in laboratory conditions. Toxicity bioassays were conducted according to Completely Randomized Design using 2% aqueous extracts with three replications. Results showed a differential response of aphids to all botanical extracts. Aphid mortality increased with the exposure time with maximum values (i.e. 39.52, 31.75, 26.76 and 24.07% for A. indica, C. procera, C. limon and D. alba extracts, respectively) recorded at 72 h post-treatment. Similarly, A. indica extract exhibited minimum fecundity (2.67 offspring per adult) and adult body weight (340.09 µg) and maximum nymphal development time (9.32 days), followed by C. procera, C. limon and D. alba. Overall study results suggest that A. indica and C. procera extracts would be effective botanical options for combating aphid infestations on wheat and other cereal crops.