Bitter Melon Novel Bioformulation “Thar Jaivik 41 EC”: Characterization and Bio-Efficacy Assessment as a Biopesticide on Horticulture Crops

Shravan Manbhar Haldhar (), Mukesh Kumar Berwal, Rakesh Bhargava, Pyare Lal Saroj, Ramesh Kumar, Jagan Singh Gora, Dilip Kumar Samadia, Dhurendra Singh, Christophe El-Nakhel (), Youssef Rouphael and Pradeep Kumar
Additional contact information
Shravan Manbhar Haldhar: ICAR—Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, India
Mukesh Kumar Berwal: ICAR—Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, India
Rakesh Bhargava: ICAR—Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, India
Pyare Lal Saroj: ICAR—Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow 226101, India
Ramesh Kumar: ICAR—Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, India
Jagan Singh Gora: ICAR—Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, India
Dilip Kumar Samadia: ICAR—Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, India
Dhurendra Singh: ICAR—Central Institute for Arid Horticulture, Bikaner 334006, India
Christophe El-Nakhel: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
Youssef Rouphael: Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
Pradeep Kumar: ICAR—Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur 342003, India

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Citrullus colocynthis L. is a wild watermelon, commonly named bitter melon or bitter apple, that naturally grows in arid regions of India among other hot arid areas of the world. Its non-edible fruits contain certain phytochemicals of therapeutic and nutraceutical value. The effectiveness of biopesticide formulations that are known to possess insecticidal properties was tested. This is the first botanical pesticide formulation developed from C . colocynthis , named “Thar Jaivik 41 EC”. The phytochemicals of C. colocynthis seed were identified using GC-MS/MS, and a total of 59 constituents were identified, of which seven have significant insecticidal properties: n-hexadecanoic acid; octadecanoic acid; dotriacontance; 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z); 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)-, methyl ester; 6-octadecenoic acid, methyl ester; and hexatriacontane. Among the different levels of tested concentrations, “Thar Jaivik 41 EC” was found most effective at 3 mL L −1 for managing various insect pests such as pod borer ( Helicoverpa armigera ) and aphid ( Toxoptera citricida ) through repellent, deterrent, antifeeding action and by causing respiration abnormalities. Moreover, it caused the least harm to natural enemies such as coccinellids at this concentration. The phytotoxicity response of “Thar Jaivik 41 EC” on tested crops revealed that it is highly safe for plants, showing no toxicity symptoms when applied at higher doses than the recommended one (3 mL L −1 ). Integration of the “Thar Jaivik 41 EC” formulation in agriculture would help to safeguard farmers’ benefits, such as reduced pest levels, improved food safety and quality of products, which would allow them to fetch higher prices, as well as provide intangible benefits to the consumers and environment.

Keywords: Citrullus colocynthis L.; Indian cow urine; bioformulation; bio-efficacy; phytotoxicity; insect pests (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/1/19/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/1/19/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2022:i:1:p:19-:d:1010646

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().