ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Comparative Study of Aqueous Plant Extracts
and Deltamethrin against Red Flour Beetles,
Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
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1
Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University,
Zhenjiang 212013, China
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Department of Entomology, The University of Haripur, Haripur 22620 Pakistan
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Department of Microbiology, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University Balochistan, Pakistan
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Department of Plant Protection, Ghazi University Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan
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Department of Zoology Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan
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College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, Jiangsu, China
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Department of Plant breeding and Genetics, The University of Haripur, Haripur 22620 Pakistan
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Department of Environment Sciences, The University of Haripur, Haripur 22620 Pakistan
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Department of Entomology, The University of Agriculture Peshawar Pakistan
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Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment,
Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Submission date: 2024-11-19
Final revision date: 2025-02-09
Acceptance date: 2025-03-17
Online publication date: 2025-06-03
Corresponding author
Rasheed Akbar
Entomology, The University Of Haripur Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan, Haripur, 22640, Haripur, Pakistan
Jianfan Sun
Institute of Environment and Ecology, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University,
Zhenjiang 212013, China
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ABSTRACT
The red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum Herbst), a major pest of stored grains in tropical
and subtropical regions, causes significant economic losses in several agricultural storage items.
This research investigates the use of aqueous plant extracts and synthetic insecticide (deltamethrin)
for the sustainable and safe management of the red flour beetle. Aqueous extracts from five plant species
– Alpinia galanga, Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Nicotiana tabacum, and Nicotiana rustica –
were evaluated at six different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0%) along with deltamethrin
against T. castaneum. Toxicity (both contact and residual) was assessed after 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours
using a completely randomized design with four replications. Probit analysis was carried out to
determine LC50 and LC90 values. Results revealed that, generally, the mortality of T. castaneum increased
as the concentration and exposure time increased. Deltamethrin exhibited the highest contact toxicity
overall, with an LC50 of 0.88 ppm and LC90 of 4.74 ppm, and the highest residual toxicity showed the lowest LC50 (0.93 ppm) and LC90 (3.83 mol/L) after a 96 h exposure period. Among the plant species
extracts in contact toxicity, N. rustica showed the highest toxicity with an LC50 of 1.00 g/L and LC90
of 5.38 g/L, followed by N. tabacum (LC50 of 1.09 g/L and LC90 of 6.50 g/L). In residual toxicity
tests, among the plant species, N. rustica again had the highest toxicity in residual tests with an LC50
of 0.79 g/L and LC90 of 10.37 g/L, followed by N. tabacum (LC50 of 1.18 g/L and LC90 of 9.02 g/L)
and A. indica (LC50 of 1.82 g/L and LC90 of 22.36 g/L). The findings suggest that deltamethrin
is recommended for managing T. castaneum; however, N. rustica, N. tabacum, and A. indica can
effectively control T. castaneum and may be useful in developing novel biopesticides.