Antifeedant activity of neemazal-t/s (biofa) on the spongy moth larvae on different three species

Abstract

Insecticides derived from plants have been used as pest control for centuries. Many of them, such as Neem, a product derived from Azadirachta indica A.Juss. are used up to date, with different efficiency against different pest species. The most significant factors affecting the behavior of an insect exposed to Neem is the concentration of the active ingredient, and the tree species on which it feeds. That is why we conducted a study in which we investigated the antifeedant activity of different concentration of insecticide NEEMAZAL-T/S (BIOFA) derived from A. indica on the larvae of the spongy moth (Lymantria dispar L, 1758), on three different species - Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L.), Hungarian oak (Quercus frainetto Ten.) and sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.). To test the efficiency of different concentrations of NeemAzal we conducted choice tests in laboratory conditions. Two disks (treatment and control) cut from the leaves of the investigated species were introduced to the second instar spongy moth larvae in Petri dishes for the testing. Twenty-five Petri dishes were used for each of the tested tree species at six concentrations (450 in total). The tested insecticide showed a significant effect between the investigated species, and its efficiency increased significantly with an increase in concentration.