In Vitro and In Vivo Toxicity of Selected Insecticides Against 2nd Instar Larvae of Spodoptera Frugiperda

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

2 Department of Zoology, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), Pakistan

Abstract

Spodoptera frugiperda, a polyphagous pest that is a member of the Noctuidae family and the Lepidoptera order, has become a significant problem for the economies of several nations, particularly Pakistan. One of the main strategies for controlling the FAW infestation in areas where maize is grown is chemical control. The current study was conducted to check the efficacy of some insecticides against 3rd instar larva of FAW under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. The mean mortality of FAW larvae was significantly different among the treatments.  The average mean percentage mortality of larvae after 24, 48 and 72 hours of coragen application was 59.41 ± 4.32, 73.11 ± 4.72, and 85.90 ± 4.31, respectively. Among all tested insecticides, coragen was recorded as the most toxic chemical followed by tracer and imidacloprid. Coragen showed the highest larval mortality (80.95%) at 72 hours of application, followed by tracer (69.77%), and imidacloprid (55.33%). Only 1.20 percent mortality was recorded in the control treatment at 72 hours of application. The mortality of larvae was 30.3 and 44.11% at the first and second sprays of coragen, respectively, while 26 and 30.34% by the application of tracer in the greenhouse conditions. The outcome thus helped to highlight the important need to focus on screening newly recommended insecticides against S. frugiperda under controlled conditions and the potential to utilize each insecticide at farmers' fields conditions that some academician researchers did not take into consideration in the large scale of maize farm.

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