Compatibility between entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema feltiae and plant extracts for treating the cotton leaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) [electronic resource].

Includes references.

Insecticides are usually more harmful to biological control agents than to pest species. Therefore, pest management strategies based on the utilization of other relatively safe alternatives to conventional chemical insecticides are now strongly advocated. Plants produce a variety of compounds that provide certain protection against insect attack (Felton and Gatehouse, 1996). High saponin content in some cultivars of the Lucerne or alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., is correlated with resistance to the pea aphid Aeyrlhosiphon pisum (Petersen et al., 1976). Alfalfa contains an array of saponins derived from triterpenoid aglycones (Lee et al., 1996; Oleszek, 1996; Tava and Odoardi, 1996). These saponins were shown to reduce larval growth and cause mortality in the flower beetle, Tenebrio molilor (Pracros, 1982). Extracts of the neem tree Azadirachla indica have been traditionally used in India to control insect pests. Azadirachtin proved to be the dominating and most effective among several related limonoids present in the extracts, (Ley et al., 1993, El-Gengaihi et al.,2002, and Opender et al., 2004).

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