Antifeedant activity of long-chain alcohols, and fungal and plant metabolites against pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) as potential biocontrol strategy

Abstract

Aphids are noxious insect pests of major crops including cereals and legumes. Particularly, pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) causes significant yield and quality loses in pea. Crop protection is largely based on noxious chemical pesticides which have prompted a renewed interest in the discovery of natural products as alternatives to synthetic insecticides. In this study different classes of natural compounds were tested in dual choice bioassays to evaluate their feeding deterrence and mortality effect on pea aphid. High feeding deterrence was produced by some of the compounds, particularly1-hexadecanol, gliotoxin, cyclopaldic acid and seiridin. On the contrary, aphid mortality was low although significant for 1-heptadecanol, cytochalasin A, 1-nonadecanol and gliotoxin. Phytotoxicity assessment showed low or imperceptible plant damaged for cytochalasin A, seiridin and 1-nonadecanol. The results obtained showed the potential of seiridin to be used as an alternative to synthetic insecticides.

Keywords:

• Pea aphid
• long chain alcohols
• fungal and plant metabolites
• biocontrol

Acknowledgements

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness FPI program and projects AGL2014-52871-R and AGL2017-82907-R co-financed by FEDER and EU-FP7-LEGATO (grant agreement No. 613551) are acknowledged. Antonio Evidente is associated with “Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare del CNR”, Pozzuoli, Italy.