Controlling Stored Products’ Pests with Plant Secondary Metabolites: A Review

Abstract

To date, only a handful of pesticides have been authorized by the European Council for the protection of stored grains. Resistance issues and ecotoxicity concerns necessitate the development of ecofriendly tools in that direction. In this review, we refer to the recent findings on plant extracts and pure plant-derived substances with promising biological activity and the potential to be used as biopesticides for stored products. The main aim of biopesticides is to be effective against target pests, without harming humans and the environment. Many plant species, among those reported herein, are part of the human diet, and are thus not harmful to humans. Edible plant extracts produced with inorganic solvents represent safe candidates for use as repellants, fumigants or contact pesticides. Cinnamon, rosemary, parsley, garlic, oregano and basil are found in products destined for human consumption but also display significant biological activities. Interestingly, cinnamon is one of the most widely tested botanical matrixes, exhibiting the best lethal effects on almost all insect and mite taxa reported herein (Acaroidea, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera), followed by basil and garlic. Prunus persica,Azadirachta indica A. Juss and Carum sp. seem to be very promising too as miticides and/or insecticides, with A. indica already being represented commercially by a plant-derived acaricidal formulation.

Structure, Synthesis, and Bioassays of Sex Pheromone for Pyrausta machaeralis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

“…Nuclear magnetic resonance: 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra were recorded by a Bruker AC-300 spectrometer (Bruker, Billerica, MA) at 300 and 75 MHz, respectively, using CDCl 3 as the solvent. 1 H NMR data was reported as position (δ), relative integral, multiplicity, and the assignment of the atom, while 13 C NMR data was reported as position (δ) and assignment of the atom. 20 Infrared spectroscopy: IR spectra were recorded with Nicolet iS 50-Fourier-transform IR spectrometers (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA).…”

Gel Carriers for Plant Extracts and Synthetic Pesticides in Rodent and Arthropod Pest Control: An Overview

“…Their use is offered in many areas of pest control. Edible and essential oils have been tested as botanical insecticides against a wide range of pests that attack both stored commodities and standing crops [ 128 , 129 ]. From an ecological and partly toxicological point of view, plant oils are valued because they are biodegradable and thus do not tend to accumulate in the environmental chains.…”

Taxonomic Description, Distribution, and Control Measures of Plodia interpunctella (Hübner, 1813) in Kashmir Valley, India

“…Most of these extracts were either attractants or had no effect [40]. Nikolaou (2021) tested the essential oil of Clausena anisata, and observed that it was highly toxic to the larval stages, and prevented the emergence of adults. When Mentha piperita and Salvia officinalis were added to a polylactic acid solution, P. interpunctella experienced considerable contact toxicity, with M. piperita exhibiting more toxicity than S. officinalis [41].…”