Bioactivity of cumin essential oils against grain maize pests

QUIROGA V.; PIZZOLITTO R. P.; DAMBOLENA J.S; HERRERA J.M.; ZAIO Y.P.; ZUNINO M.P; ZYGADLO J.A

San Miguel de Tucumán

Jornada; 3° Reunión conjunta de sociedades de biología de la República Argentina; 2015

Stored corn grains are attacked by many pests, such as Sitophilus zeamais, a primary pest and Fusarium verticillioides, the main maize plant fungal pathogen. Due to that these pests cause qualitative and quantitative losses, there is a strong needed to protect stored grains from insects and fungi. Essential oils (EOs) are an alternative to synthetic pesticides. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the in vitro bioactivities of seven EOs of cumin plants, collected of different departments of Catamarca province, against S. zeamais and F. verticillioides. The insecticidal activity was evaluated by fumigant toxicity assay and the antifungal activity using the agar dilution method. The most active EOs against S. zeamais (LD50