ABSTRACT
Chemical composition and aphidicidal properties of castor-bean leaves against Rhopalosiphum maidis and Sipha flava (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

César Sotelo-Leyva1, Erubiel Toledo-Hernández1, Napoleón Navarro-Tito1, Liliana Aguilar-Marcelino2, Gregorio Hernández-Salinas3, David Osvaldo Salinas-Sánchez4, and Guadalupe Peña-Chora5*
 
Plant extracts are a great source of molecules with insecticidal activity and are used to control pests in various crop production systems. In this study, we evaluated the aphidicidal properties in vitro of the n-hexane extract of leaves of castor-bean (Ricinus communis L.; Euphorbiaceae) at different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10 kg m-3) against apterous adults of corn leaf aphid(Rhopalosiphum maidis Fitch) and the yellow sugarcane aphid (Sipha flava Forbes). The observed effects were dose-dependent, and the highest concentration evaluated (10 kg m-3) caused 82% mortality in R. maidis and 79% in S. flava. To identify chemical compounds, present in the extract we used mass gas chromatography, identifying 16 compounds. Palmitic acid was the major compound, with 45.34% abundance. The data obtained indicate the existence of insecticidal compounds in the castor-bean n-hexane extract, which could be used as an alternative bioinsecticide in the integrated management of these two aphid species.
Keywords: Aphids, castor-bean, GC-MS, palmitic acid, pest, Ricinus communis.
1Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero (UAGro), Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas (FCQB), Av. Lázaro Cárdenas S/N, Ciudad Universitaria Sur, 39000, Chilpancingo, Guerrero, México.
2Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), km 11 Carretera Federal Cuernavaca-Cuautla, Nº 8534, Col. Progreso, Jiutepec, Morelos, CP 62550, México.
3Campus Zongolica, Tecnológico Nacional de México/Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Zongolica, km 4 Carretera a la Compañía S/N, Tepetitlanapa, Zongolica, Veracruz, 95005, México.
4Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM), Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación (CIByC Universidad 1001), Col. Chamilpa, CP 62209, Morelos, México.
5Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM), Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB), Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, CP 62209, Morelos, México.
*Corresponding author (penacg@uaem.mx).