Antifeedant activity of essential oil Lantana camara L. against Spodoptera litura Fabr. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Plutella xylostella Curtis (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

The main volatile components of leaf extracts from Lantana camara by GC-MS were identified as β–Caryophylene (29.67%), Caryophylene oxide (2.69%),α–Humulene (10.24%)and Germacrene D (1.72%). The antifeedant activity of Lantana camera essential oil was tested against Spodoptera litura and Plutella xylostella at different concentrations. Results indicated that 50%-60% antifeedant activity induced by the oil was recorded on Spodoptera litura and Plutella xylostella second instar larvae and gave significant difference compared to the control (P=0.0000) in no-choice test and choice-test experiments, respectively; the essential oil of Lantana camera affected the ratio of pupation and adult emergence of both S. litura and P. xylostella.