Effect of aqueous plant extracts on the fall armyworm

Abstract

Spodoptera frugiperda, fall armyworm, is considered as one of the main pests of corn crops. As an alternative measure to pesticides, the use of insecticidal plants, aside from protecting the environment, reduces production costs and becomes a practice of sustainable agriculture. Thus, the objective of this work was to verify the insecticidal action of aqueous leaf extracts of Eucaplyptus robusta, Mikania laevigata and leaves and fruits of Capsicum baccatum, when incorporated into artificial diet for Spodoptera frugiperda, maintained under laboratory conditions (26 ± 2°C, relative humidity of 60 ± 5% and photoperiod of 16 hours). Larval stage duration, daily mortality, weight of larvae on the 10th day and of pupae after 24 hours were verified, as well as daily mortality of larvae. It was observed that the extracts of E. robusta and leaves of C. baccatum showed higher mortality and lower weight in the larval stage, and are promising for field tests to control this pest.