Potential of certain natural extracts for the control of the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliver)

Abstract

Laboratory bioassays were conducted to evaluate the potential of 13 plant extracts for the control of the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. Results indicated that the ethanol extracts of sea ambrosia (Ambrosia maritima), French cotton (Calotropis procera) and curcuma (Curcuma longa) have superior toxicity as compared to the extracts of other tested plants, estimated LC 50 were 0.723, 0.978 and 1.092%, respectively. In field experiments, the percentage of recovered date palm trees reached 90.91% within 15 days when A. maritima extract was applied. The injection of C. procera and C. longa extracts into the tunnels of infested trees resulted in 86.36% and 85.00% of tree recovery, respectively.

Keywords:

• Plant extracts
• control
• red palm weevil