Insecticidal activity of the crude extract and its fractions of Custard apple (Annona reticulata L.)

In recent years, many agricultural scientists are studying on eco-friendly farming methods. Among of lots of the methods, the natural insecticides are highly motivated and interested due to their safety and biodegradable issues, and readily available source of bioinsecticides. In this study, the crude extract of custard apple (Annona reticulata L.) seed and its three fractions which were separated based on polarity indexes were examined for their insecticidal activities against Myzus persicae Sulzer and Nilaparvata lugens S.. The crude extract (Aceton/MeOH) showed strong insecticidal activities against both insects at 3.00 mg/mL (LD∧50=0.45 mg/mL for M. persicae S. and 1.42 mg/mL for N. lugens S.). Furthermore, simple fractionation with hexane, chloroform, and water lead to increase three-folds insecticidal activity on chloroform fraction (LD∧50=0.13 mg/mL for M. persicae S. and 1.14 mg/mL for N. lugens S.). The results suggest that A. reticulata extracts might be used to control for M. persicae effectively.