Insecticidal and Repellant Activities of Four indigenous medicinal Plants Against Stored Grain Pest, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

The present investigation was aimed to assess the impact of four indigenous plants for their insecticidal and repellent activity against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), a stored grain pest and they were tested in the laboratory. Four widely distributed plants (Artemisia vulgaris, Sphaeranthus indicus, Tephrosia purpurea, and Prosopis juliflora) were sequentially extracted with increasing polarity of organic solvents such as, hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate were evaluated for their insecticidal and repellent activities against Tribolium castaneum by adapting the standard protocol in in vitro. Data pertaining to the present investigation clearly revealed that the percentage of mortality was maximum in(72 hr 58%) hexane extract of A. vulgaris, chloroform extract (72 hr 34%) of S. indicus, and ethyl acetate extract (72 hr 52%) of T. purpurea. Repellant activities of plant extracts were tested against T. castaneum, repellent activity was maximum in hexane extract of P. fuliflora, (EPI value for P. fuliflora in 2.5% was −0.11 and −0.33 at 1hr and 6 hr respectively) chloroform extract of T. purpurea (2.5% was −0.17 at 6 hr) and ethyl acetate extract of S. indicus (2.5% was −0.65 at 6 hr) against T. castaneum. The present work for botanical products to control the insect pest of stored grain Tribolium castaneum (Herbst). These results suggest the presence of actives toxic substances acting after consumption or topical application.