Insecticidal and Behavioral Effect of Some Plant Extracts and Essential Oils on Sitophilus granarius and Tribolium castaneum

Control of insects in stored products is very important. Sitophilus granarius and Tribolium castaneum are two important insect species that cause damage to stored products. The need for alternative drugs that can be used to combat pests in stored products is increasing day by day. In this study, the usability of plant extracts and essential oils obtained from Achillea biserrata, Prangos ferulacea and Salvia wiedemannii plants to control S. granarius and T. castaneum were investigated. At the end of 72 hours, the highest contact activity among the plants tested on S. garanarius showed P. ferulaceae hexane with 74% and A. biserrata methanol extract with 71%, respectively. The highest activity on T. castaneum was obtained by A. biserrata ethyl acetate extract at 42% after 72 hours. Essential oils of A. biserrata killed 84% of S. granarius adults after 72 hours at a dose of 200µl/ml. Essential oils showed no significant contact toxicity on T. castaneum. The fumigant activities of the essential oils used in the study were also examined, but no fumigant effect was observed. On the other hand, the highest repellent activity on S. granarius was obtained from A. biserrata ethyl acetate extract after 3 hours. All plant extracts showed high repellent effect on T. castaneum. P. ferulacea and A. biserrata essential oils showed the highest activity (94% to 98%) on S. granarius after 1 hour. Essential oils showed higher activity on T. castaneum than S. granarius.