ENTOMOTOXIC ASSAY OF NANO-ALUMINUM OXIDE AND NANO-ZINC OXIDE AGAINST SITOPHILUS ORYZAE AS A PROMISING INSECTICIDE

El-Bendary, H. M.; Abdel-Wahab, A. S.; El-Helaly, A. A.

doi:10.12816/0034708

ENTOMOTOXIC ASSAY OF NANO-ALUMINUM OXIDE AND NANO-ZINC OXIDE AGAINST SITOPHILUS ORYZAE AS A PROMISING INSECTICIDE

Document Type : Original Research Papers

Authors

¹ Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt

² Department of Economic Entomology and Pesticides, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

10.12816/0034708

Abstract

Rice is one of the most important food crops for more than half of the world's population, the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a major pest of stored rice in Egypt. The use of nanoparticles as pesticide could be promising alternative strategy to affect pests, which have become resistant to pesticides. Two nano-materials "nano-aluminum oxide and nano-zinc oxide" were tested against rice weevil under laboratory and store conditions. Nano aluminum oxide was found to be highly effective against S. oryzae, while nano zinc oxide has lowered effectiveness against the weevil. Results showed that mortality percentage of S. oryzae were 65.34±8.9 and 58.58±8.3 after the treatment with 0.5 g/kg nano-materials, but 100.00±9.6 and 81.81±4.2 after the treatment with 1 g/kg nano-matreials. The mortality scored with 2 g/kg was 100.0±0.0 and 80.80±2.3 after 14 days of treatment with nano aluminum oxide and nano zinc oxide, respectively, as compared to 0.0±0.0 in the control group and 59.4±3.2 after the treatment with malathion at LC₅₀value. Newly emerged adults were checked 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 days after treatment with 2 g/kg nano aluminum oxide or nano zinc oxide and compared to malathion at LC₅₀. The original activity remaining (OAR, %) was calculated, nano-aluminum oxide or nano-zinc oxide gave 13.14 and 13.57 OAR% more than malathion, where it gave 12.15 OAR%. These findings recommend either nano-aluminum oxide or nano-zinc oxide as a promising control tool, if bio-safety further studies were concerned.

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