Successive applications of insecticides to control Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) have resulted in the emergence of resistant populations of this insect. A novel control measure for this target insect could be the use of botanical insecticides derived from plant tissues. Hence, we experimentally tested aqueous extracts of Alibertia edulis (Rich.), Alibertia intermedia (Mart.), and Alibertia sessilis (Vell.) K. Schum. found in the Brazilian savannah in order to investigate their potential to disrupt the life cycle of P. xylostella. Aqueous extracts of the leaves of A. intermedia and A. sessilis negatively affected the development of P. xylostella in all stages of the life cycle, prolonging the larval stage and causing mortality in the larval or pupal stages. Treatments with A. intermedia and A. sessilis extracts caused the lowest fecundity and the number of hatched larvae. The harmful effects of these aqueous extracts on the life cycle of P. xylostella may be attributable to the flavonoids and other phenolic compounds present in A. intermedia and A. sessilis. These aqueous botanical extracts are low in toxicity when compared to non-aqueous pesticides, and may emerge as an effective approach for control of populations of P. xylostella.

Plutella xylostella L. is one of the main agents to cause damages to plants of Brassica genus, provoking negative impacts in cultures. The use of botanical extracts in plants protection has been related in literature, however, their use in the species analyzed in this study is not yet reported. We assessed the effect of aqueous and methanolic extracts of the species: Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi ( -branco), occuring in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and whose feeding preference of P. xylostella larvae of 3rd instar. We intend to answer the following questions: (1) Are the plant species analyzed fagodeterrentes? (2) what type of extract produces the least food preferrence? To answer these questions, we treated cabbage disks with aqueous extracts stored in a refrigerator in periods of 0, 7, 14 and 21 days and the methanolic extracts were treated at concentrations of 0.5 mg/mL, 1.0 mg/ mL, 2.0mg/mL. The aqueous and methanolic extracts of T. silvatica presented the lowest values of feeding preference, 0.113 and 0.06, respectively, compared to other extracts.

The indiscriminate use of synthetic insecticides caused an increase in the resistance of Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) to almost all classes of insecticides, as well as affected the environment and non-target organisms. Thus, the search for less harmful alternatives with the purpose of reducing the application of these insecticides has become a priority. A possible alternative to reduce the use of synthetic insecticides is by using botanical insecticides, given the thousands of existing compounds derived from secondary metabolism in plants. In this study, we tested the following hypotheses: (i) the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of native plants reduce the food consumption of larvae and oviposition of adults of P. xylostella; (ii) these botanical species can act as potential plant insecticides. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of plant extracts on the feeding preference of larvae and oviposition of adults of P. xylostella. For this, cabbage discs treated with aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Schinus terebinthifolius, Annona coriacea, Annona crassiflora and Serjania marginata were given to larvae. The concentrations used for the aqueous extracts were of 5 and 10 mg mL-1, and for the ethanolic extracts were of 1 and 5 mg mL-1. Both extracts of the four tested plant species showed oviposition suppressed. The extract of S. marginata showed the lowest rates of suppression. All treatments with ethanolic extracts showed a phagodeterrant effect being that the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of A. crassiflora and S. terebinthifolius were the most effective as antifeedants on third instar larvae by P. xylostella.

Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) is an insect pest that causes great damage to Brassica cultures. It is necessary to develop alternative control methods, because this pest is resistant to many synthetic insecticides that are harmful to the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous extracts of Campomanesia adamantium, C. guazumifolia, and C. xanthocarpa on the life cycle of P. xylostella. These aqueous extracts were prepared in a concentration of 10 g/mL and then applied on cabbage disks of 4 cm2 to feed the larvae until they reached pupal stage. The disks were evaluated daily during the larval stage and replaced every 24 hours. The experiment consisted of ten replicates, each replicate containing five subsamples. The parameters evaluated were larval and pupal survival, pupal biomass, gender ratio, male and female longevity, number of eggs, fecundity, oviposition period and egg survival. The C. xanthocarpa extract increased larval stage and decreased pupal biomass and oviposition period. The C. adamantium extract decreased larval duration, pupal biomass, male longevity, and oviposition period. The C. guazumifolia extract decreased larval stage, male longevity, and oviposition period. The chemical composition of the extracts of Campomanesia species presented flavonoids such as quercetin, phenolic compounds, and tannins, and the highest retention time occurred in C. adamantium. Thus, the extracts of Campomanesia species were effective in decreasing and controlling the oviposition period of P. xylostella, probably because of the presence of flavonoids, which indicates a possible antioxidant potential and, therefore, the observed antibiosis.

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