Antifeedant properties of Destruxin extracted from Metarhizium Anisopliae against Atteva Sciodoxa Larvae

Abstract

Atteva Sciodoxa is a major insect pest of Eurycoma Longifolia. This pest feed vigorously on young leaves which subject to the damages and retardations of the tree. Severe infestations on young sapling will lead to the dead of the tree (Mohd Noh et al. 2004). Safe and non-chemical pesticides are required to control this insect pest as hazardous properties of chemical insecticide are not suitable to be used in herbs plantation such as E. longifolia (Mohd Farid et al. 2014). Research had found that entomopathogenic fungi such as Metarhizium anisopliae, Beauveria bassiana and Isaria fumosorosea are capable to produce secondary metabolites compounds with insecticidal and antifeedant activities (Amiri et al. 1999). From the metabolites that have been produced, destruxin from M. anisopliae was most commonly being studied. This cyclic peptides exhibited wide range of biological and insecticidal activities (Pedras et al. 2002). Since destruxin is toxic to insect, this metabolite is potentially to be an alternative approach in combating destructive insect pest such as A. sciodoxa larvae. In this study, effects of antifeedant activity of destruxin from local M. anisopliae against A. sciodoxa larvae were observed.