The impact of different plant extracts on population suppression of Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) yield under field conditions

PLoS One. 2021 Dec 1;16(12):e0260470. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260470. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) is a destructive pest of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) crop in Pakistan. Although insecticides are the primary management strategy used to control H. armigera, most of them are not effective due to considerable toxic residual effects on the fruits. Nonetheless, H. armigera is rapidly evolving resistance against the available pesticides for its management. This situation calls upon the need of alternative management options against the pest. Different plant extracts have been suggested as a viable, environment-friendly option for plant protection with minimal side effects. Furthermore, the plant extracts could also manage the insect species evolving resistance against pesticides. This study evaluated the efficacy of different plant extracts (i.e., Neem seed, turmeric, garlic and marsh pepper) against H. armigera. Furthermore, the impact of the plant extracts on growth and yield of tomato crop was also tested under field conditions. The results revealed that all plant extracts resulted in higher mortality of H. armigera compared to control. Similarly, the highest plant height was observed for the plants treated with the plant extracts compared to untreated plants. Moreover, the highest tomato yield was observed in plants treated with plant extracts, especially with neem seed (21.013 kg/plot) followed by pepper extract (19.25 kg/plot), and garlic extract 18.4 kg/plot) compared to the untreated plants (8.9 kg/plot). It is concluded that plant extracts can be used as eco-friendly approaches for improving tomato yield and resistance management of H. armigera.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Retracted Publication

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Azadirachta / chemistry
  • Capsicum / chemistry
  • Garlic / chemistry
  • Insecticides / chemistry*
  • Insecticides / pharmacology
  • Larva / drug effects*
  • Moths / drug effects*
  • Pakistan
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry*
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Solanum lycopersicum / growth & development*

Substances

  • Insecticides
  • Plant Extracts

Grants and funding

This work was supported by projects of the National Nature Science Foundation (No. 32060679) and projects of Guizhou University (No. GuidapeiYU[2019]52 and No. [2017]50). This project was supported by Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP-2021/257), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.