Laboratory Evaluation of Selected Differential Chemistry Synthetic Insecticides against some Economically Important Insect Pests

Abstract

Contemporary non-target effects of conventional synthetic insecticides necessitate evaluating biorational insecticides owing differential chemistry and modes of action than the conventional ones. This laboratory study comparatively evaluated some selected differential chemistry insecticides against some destructive and economically important insect pests i.e. mango mealybug (Drosicha mangiferae Green), mango leafhopper (Idioscopus clypealis Lethierry), Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) and subterranean termites (Odontotermes obesus Rambur). Standard twig and filter paper-dip bioassay methods were used against sap-feeding pests and termites, respectively. Factorial analyses of variance revealed a significant impact of tested insecticidal formulations and exposure time on the mortality all insect pest individuals. The most effective differential chemistry insecticides against mango leafhopper, citrus psyllids, mango mealybugs and subterranean termites were nitenpyram, clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid (causing 74–79% cumulative corrected mortality), thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, clothianidin and spirotetramat (causing 78–85% cumulative mortality), spirotetramat, acetamiprid and thiamethoxam (causing 68–90% cumulative mortality), and chlorantraniliprole, pyriproxyfen and chlorfenapyr (causing 80–85% cumulative mortality), respectively. Overall study findings suggest these above mentioned non-conventional insecticides to be incorporated in the biorational management of these insect pests.