Full Length Research Paper

Effect of natural and chemical insecticides on Hyalopterus pruni and Armeniaca vulgaris

Akram Ali¹* and Saleh Al-Quraishy²

¹Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, PO Box: 2455, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

²Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University., Riyadh 11451, PO Box: 2455, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: akram692000@yahoo.com. Tel: 00966557554020. Fax: 00966 1 4675833.

Accepted 14 April, 2008

Experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of water extracts of Fagonia arabica, Salix alba and Anthmis pseudocotula and their mixtures with chemical insecticide (Malathion) on growth of Hyalopterus pruni and characters of Armeniaca vulgaris plants and their soils. The data revealed that F. arabica extract at 20% concentration was the most effective followed by S. alba which recorded 62.66 and 56.16% reduction in H. pruni population density, respectively. While the mixture of Malathion with F. arabica or S. alba or A. pseudocotula extracts (each one at half concentration) results in 57.88, 57.42 and 60.86% reduction in aphid population, respectively. The plant extracts treatment resulted in significant increase in chlorophyll pigments and total carbohydrates in A. vulgaris whereas carotenoids and total protein content decreased (except S. alba extract treatment which increased total protein content). Soil cations; Ca⁺⁺, Na⁺, Mg⁺⁺, K⁺ and anions; SO₄^2-, HCO₃^-, Cl^- increased with all plant extracts treatment with exception of A. pseudocotula extract treatment that decreased HCO₃^- concentrations. This study recommended that natural insecticides were more effective and safe than chemical ones in pest control.

Key words: Natural insecticides, chemical insecticides, treatments, side-effect, ecosystem.