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Insecticidal Activity of Selected Essential Oil Extracts
Against Common Cutworm, Spodoptera litura
Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abigaile Mia V. Javier1,*, Virginia R. Ocampo2,
Flor A. Ceballo2 and Pio A. Javier2

1Agriculture Research Section, Atomic Research Division, Philippine Nuclear
Research Institute- Department of Science and Technology,
Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
2Institute of Weed Science, Entomology and Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and
Food Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines

*Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABSTRACT
Essential oils from Alpinia pyramidata (Blume), Lantana camara (Linnaeus), Coleus amboinicus (Loureiro) and Curcuma longa (Linn.) were evaluated in the laboratory for their insecticidal activities against third instar larval of common cutworm, Spodoptera litura Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Among the four essential oils, Cu. longa was the most toxic to cutworm (LC50 = 5.93 mg/mL) when applied through leaf residue film method. When applied topically, essential oil from A. pyramidata was the most toxic (LD50 = 693.86 µg/g insect) which also provided the highest antifeedant activity against cutworm at 16 mg/mL acetone. Essential oil from L. camara ranked second in providing contact toxicity both through topical application and leaf residue film method. Essential oil from Cu. longa showed the highest repellency against cutworm at 16mg/mL acetone. Essential oil from L. camara showed remarkable insect growth regulatory activities against cutworm expressed by a high number of larval-pupal intermediates. Meanwhile, essential oil from Cu. longa showed high abnormalities among the pupae and adults produced. Both the latter essential oils also provided short life span of seven to eight days when applied on cutworm larvae; a normal adult lived for about nine days when provided with 10% honey solution as food. In view of their overall pesticidal properties, essential oils from L. camara and Cu. longa have potential to be exploited as botanical insecticides for cutworm management. . . . read more

INTRODUCTION
The common cutworm, Spodoptera litura Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous insect pest that feeds on almost all kinds of green vegetation. In severe infestation, the pest can heavily damage the plant resulting to stunted growth and reduced yield (Kandagak & Khetagoudar 2013). The major line of defense employed against cutworm is the use of chemical insecticides. However, management of the pest using synthetic chemicals has failed due to the development of insecticide resistance, pest resurgence, environmental contamination, and lethal effects on non-target organisms (Jeyasankar et al. 2014). Hence, plant products are emerging as a potential source of cutworm pest control because they are comparatively less toxic and easily biodegradable (Arivoli & Tennyson 2013).

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