Aqueous botanical formulations from Annona Seeds for the management of selected vegetable pests

Botanical pesticides are a group of bio-pesticides derived from phytochemicals, which can be used as an alternative to synthetic pesticides, with several advantages. They can be used in pest management as ready to use, self-made, aqueous formulations or commercial formulations. Present study evaluated the insecticidal activity of selected aqueous botanical formulations against cabbage leaf eating caterpillar complex and cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch. Aqueous formulations prepared from the seed extracts of family Annona spp. demonstrated significant (p<0.05) insecticidal activity against cabbage leaf eating caterpillars, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera:Yponomeutoidea), Crocidolomia binotalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and Chrysodeixis spp. (Lepidoptera: Chrysodeixidae), and Aphis craccivora (Hemiptera: Aphididae). The activity of the Annonaceae seed extracts was comparable to that of the aqueous seed extracts of neem [Azadirachta indica (A. Juss.), the commercial neem formulation LakGro Neem 7.5 g L⁻¹ EC®, and in most instances superior to Spinosad (Success 25 g L⁻¹ SC^®). Furthermore, seed extracts of Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa L.) and Cherimoya (A. cherimola Mill.) were more effective than the rest of the tested species. The study revealed that the aqueous seeds extracts of Annona species have a potential to be used in pest management.