Insecticidal activity of seed extracts of carica papaya (L.) against the fall armyworm spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The present study shows that natural products from Carica papaya can be considered as a valid alternative to control pests in agriculture. The insecticide properties of the seed extracts of four cultivars of C. papaya (Maradol, Mammee, Yellow and Hawaiian) were added to an artificial insect diet. Bioassays were conducted with hexanic, acetonic and methanolic extracts at concentrations of 10, 100 and 1000ppm. All tests were performed with the first larval stage of Spodoptera frugiperda. The response variable was insect mortality. Extracts from seeds of the Maradol, Mammee and Yellow cultivars of C. papaya, followed by extracts from seeds of the Hawaiian cultivar, applied at concentrations of 10, 100 and 1000ppm, were toxic on S. frugiperda larvae (50-70% corrected mortality rate). The acetonic extracts of the Maradol and Mammee cultivars at 10ppm were the most effective, causing mortalities of 73.6 and 62.8% of the larvae, respectively.