Journal of Entomology (2008) 5, 77-90

Fauziah Abdullah and Partiban Subramanian (2008)
The feeding response of Epilachna indica (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Epilachninae) towards extracts of Azadirachta indica
Journal of Entomology 5 (2), 77-90
Abstract: A study was conducted to observe the antifeedant properties of Azadirachta indica towards the pest of eggplant, Epilachna indica (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Epilachninae) in a farm at Unit of Landscape, University of Malaya. Eight eggplants of Solanum melongena tree were planted in a gardening pot and placed into a big rearing cage for the study on the life cycle of E. indica. Methanolic extraction method was used to extract the antifeedant properties from A. indica leaves. A dual choice feeding bioassay was conducted using agar as the feeding substrate in the feeding experiment. Different treatments were placed in two of the equal compartments in petri dishes. One of the agar compartments was treated with leaves extract or synthetic neem compound and the other half of the agar was treated with methanol as control. Analysis using High Performance Liquid Chromatography identified Azadirachtin as one of the chemical components that has the antifeeding property. Synthetic Azadirachtin compound in 50, 100 and 200 ppm concentration was bioassayed to determine the minimum concentration that can cause optimal antifeedant effect on E. indica. There was significant difference (ANOVA) in antifeeding response between 50 and 100 ppm concentration but a concentration of 100 and 200 ppm exhibited similar response. It was found that a 100 ppm concentration of Azadirachtin was the minimum concentration that can cause optimal antifeedant effect on E. indica.
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Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Henosepilachna indica	Eggplant (Solanum melongena)	Malaysia