The aim of this study was to evaluate the insecticidal effect of aqueous, alcoholic, and oil extracts from leaves of eight medicinal plants against Diabrotica speciosa prepared at five concentrations. The extracts that used commercial soybean oil as solvent showed the highest D. speciosa mortality due to the solvent itself, regardless of the used plants and their concentrations. Thus, commercial soybean oil was discarded as solvent since at these volumes it would cause serious phytotoxicity problems. After 24 hours of exposure of the pest to the extracts, the highest D. speciosa mortality values were observed for Copaifera langsdorfii and Chenopodium ambrosioides extracts, both in 5% alcohol, and Artemisia verlotorum, in 10% water. However, in the last mortality assessment (48 h), C. langsdorfii extract in 5% alcohol showed higher mortality of this pest, followed by C. ambrosioides extract in 5% alcohol, compared to the remaining plants.
Ruta graveolens; Artemisia verlotorum; Stryphnodendron adstringens; Baccharis trimera; Copaifera langsdorffii
