Insecticidal activity of Jatropha curcas seed extracts against Plutella xylostella and Musca domestica

Crude extracts from seeds of Jatropha curcas L.were obtained with ethanol,butanol,ethyl acetate,chloroform and petroleum ether by using the impregnation method,and the toxicity of each crude extract against two pest insects,Plutella xylostella and Musca domestica,was determined by the tag method and the stomach poison method,seperately.The results show that the five extracts of seeds all demonstrated high activities against these two pest insects.Of the five extracts the ethyl acetate extract showed the best insecticidal effect on P.xylostella when treated at the rate of 50 g·L-1.P.xylostella had a corrected mortality of 93.6% when treated with the ethyl acetate extract for 48 h but had the lowest corrected mortality(78.9%) when treated with petroleum ether extract.M.domestica had the highest corrected mortality(100%) when exposed to the ethanol extract(10 g·L-1) for 48h,but had the lowest corrected mortality(58.3%) when treated with the petroleum ether extract.