In order to develop biological control against cixiidae, I'm searching what kind of plant extract could be used as a repellent and/or insecticide.
Hi Julien,
You can use spinosad (Down) to control planthoppers (and many other pest insects). This product is based on bacterial proteins (spinosins) and has low effects on beneficials. But this is not a plant extract. One that could fit your question is Neem oil (Saxena et al. Neem oil affects courtship signals and mating behavior of brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Hom., Delphacidae) females. J. Appl. Entomol. 116:127-132; and others, see attached one)
If you can read into spanish, please visit this page, is mainly for citrus protection, but they are including some other crops ... http://gipcitricos.ivia.es/
Here you can have an idea of IPM programs to protect citrus, and a lot of studies using serveral pesticides, and other biocides like Neem oil.
hope this helps,
Beatriz
Hi Beatriz,
Thank you for your response and for the reference of Saxena dealing with mating disruption effect of neem.
I'm searching other plant extracts that can be tested against a planthopper living on lavender. Control of adults is currently impossible by insecticide treatments because planthopper adults are present during honey bees pollination.
Thank you again,
Julien
Dear Julien,
For finding original plant extracts needs a lot of time, some lab facilities and colonies of test species. Neem (oil and extract of Azadirachta indica) is a well known insecticide and repellent of plant origin which has been used for more than several 1000 years in India. Generally extracts of plants containing essential oils or some very efficient compounds can be used for controlling insects. This means you have immense opportunities and a lot of boulot.
Dear Andras,
Thank you for your response. I work on a Cixiidae. Nymphs leave on roots and only the adults can be the target of repellent. The main efficacy of neem is due to the presence of ecdysteroid analogue. Thus, the effect of neem is greatest on larvae and nymphs.
Julien
There are some reports of Neem being systemic if applied to the soil. See http://www.agriculturejournals.cz/publicFiles/84984.pdf
Thus you should be able to target the nymphs.
Nicotine is another example. It was sold in the USA under the name "Black Flag."
This is all sort of beside the point. If it is toxic or repellant to the planthopper there is a good chance that it will also have an effect on bees. Bees can acquire the product in many ways, direct contact, drift, pollen, and nectar. Once collected it will affect the entire hive in some way. I fed bees 12 different essential oils: wintergreen, rosemary, sage, etc.... All were toxic at high enough doses.
Thank you for the informations about neem use.
Nicotine is a powerfull insecticide, but it is forbidden in France.
How about pyrethrum? That too is an insecticide from a plant. It has almost no residual toxicity. The pyrethroids are chemical derivations of pyrethrum that are not found in nature. Of course, pyrethrum will also kill bees and it will only work on the adult Cixids.
I wonder if pyrethrum has a short enough life that some of the problem with bees could be avoided if a grower would spray at night: say between 11pm and 3am.
There are a large number of plant derived toxins that should work as insecticides, but most are not and could not get registered as an insecticide due to extreme mammalian toxicity.
have you tried Calotropis flower extract? it is safe for a number of pollinators.
Tansy extracts, depending upon the chemotype, could also be assayed as an insecticide both for contents in pyrethrinoids but also sesquiterpenes like thujones.
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