Effect of Selected Volatiles on Two Stored Pests: The Fungus Fusarium verticillioides and the Maize Weevil Sithophilus zeamais.

MARÍA PAULA ZUNINO; JIMENA MARÍA HERRERA; ROMINA PAOLA PIZZOLITTO; HECTOR RUBINSTEIN; JULIO ALBERTO ZYGADLO; DAMBOLENA JOSÉ

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2015 vol. 63 p. 7743 - 7749

0021-8561

New agronomic practices and technology enabled Argentina a larger production of cereal grains, reaching a harvest yielded of 26.5 million metric tons of maize, of which, about 40% was exported. However, much of the maize production is lost annually by the attack of fungi and insects (2.6 million tons). In the study, the antifungal effect of seed volatiles on Fusarium verticillioides, its mycotoxin production, and repellent and insecticidal activities against weevill S. zeamais, insect vector of F. verticillioides, were evaluated. Compounds tested were (2E)-2-hexenal, (2E)-2-nonenal, (2E,6Z)-2,6-nonadienal, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, pentanal, 2-decanone and 3-decanone, which occur in the blend of volatile compounds emitted by various cereal grains. The most active antifungal were the aldehydes (2E)-2-nonenal, (2E)-2-hexenal and (2E,6Z)-2,6-nonadienal [Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values of < 0.03mM, 0.06mM and 0.06mM, respectively]. The fumonisin B1 (FB1) occurrence also was prevented because these compounds completely inhibited the fungal growth. The best insecticidal fumigant activities against maize weevil were shown by 2-decanone and 3-decanone [Lethal Concentration (LC50) ≤ 54.6 μl/L (