INSECTICIDAL ACTIVITY OF AZADIRACHTIN RELATED LIMONOIDS FROM CALLUS AND CELLS SUSPENSION BIOMASS EXTRACTS OF NEEM AGAINST JASSIDS, WHITEFLY AND THRIPS

Abstract

The efficacy of callus extracts (CE) and cells suspensions biomass extracts (SBE) of Neem was
tested against three sucking insects of cotton including jassids (Amrasca biguttula Ishida), thrips
(Thrips tabaci) and whitflies (Bemisia tabaci Genn). The callus and cells suspension cultures were
raised on previously optimized MS medium supplemented with 1.0mg/L of BAP and 2,4-D and
NAA. In different treatments, cotton leaves were sprayed with different dilutions (T1, T2, T3, T4,
T5 and C) of callus extracts (CE) and cells suspensions biomass extracts (SBE) and test insects
were infested in Petri dishes. The dilutions T1 (1:10 v/v extract: dist H2O) and T2 (1:100 v/v
extract: dist H2O) of both CE and SBE showed highly significant results with 100% mortality rate
after two days of infestation. The dilution T3 (1:1000 v/v extract: dist H2O) also showed significant
results with 64-94% mortality followed by T4 (1:10000 v/v extract: dist H2O) with 28-80%
mortality after five days of infestation. The dilution T5 (1:100000 v/v extract: dist H2O) initially
showed small mortality response and growth inhibition during first three days and then increase in
insects population was noted on fourth and fifth days. Similarly 10–20% insects population was
increased in negative control (C) treated with dist H2O