Aqueous plant extracts and the behavior of the cassava green mite

Abstract

The use of plant extracts is a promising alternative for the control of phytophagous mites. This study was carried out to test the bio-activity of neem, Azadirachta indica A. Juss. and clove, Syzigium aromaticum L., aqueous extracts on the behaviour of the cassava green mite, Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar). Recently hatched larvae were individualized onto cassava leaf discs previously immersed in different concentrations of the extract and in distilled water, and maintained at these conditions until reaching maturity. The females were individualized onto untreated leaf discs right after emergency and mated with males from the rearing stock. The evaluations were taken each 12 h. The two highest neem concentrations (1.0 and 0.75g of ground neem seeds 100 mL-1 water) gave the best results, causing 72.5 and 37.5% of larval mortality, respectively. Mortality of other stages was up 16%. The mortality of the combined immature stages was 84.6 and 55%, at neem concentrations of 1.0 and 0.75%, respectively. The duration of the deutochrysalis and teleiochrysalis stages was slightly but significantly longer for neem at 1.0% probability. The plant extracts did not affect female fecundity, which ranged from 6.5 to 8.6 eggs/female/day. Although the extracts used did not affect the incubation period, neem extract significantly reduced egg viability at 1% probability.