Plant Protection (Scientific Journal of Agriculture)

Plant Protection (Scientific Journal of Agriculture)

The insecticidal activity of azadirachtin against the Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella), and its influence on nutritional indices of the larvae fed on the kernels of five maize varieties

Document Type : Research paper-English

Authors
Z. Saeedi 1
M. Ziaee 2
M. Esfandiari 2
1 PhD candidate, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
2 Professor, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
10.22055/ppr.2025.50054.1816
Abstract
The Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), is a destructive pest damaging various stored products including cereals; thus, it is necessary to ascertain the susceptibility of different host varieties. This study assessed the effect of treating broken kernels of five maize varieties (Simon, Valbom, 703, BK, and BC678) with azadirachtin (concentration of 4 ppm a.i.) on mortality and nutritional performance of P. interpunctella larvae. The highest mortality percentage was observed on the treated kernels of BK variety which did not exceed 22%. Larval weight was the highest in the 703 variety with the lowest larval weight found in the BK and Simon varieties. Kernel treatments with azadirachtin, compared to the control, resulted in a decline in the larval weight ranging from 9.85 to 10.77 mg in different varieties. In the control group, the larvae reared on 703 followed by BC678 and Valbom had the highest frass and pupal weights, which were significantly different from the means of the azadirachtin-treated kernels. The greatest approximate digestibility and relative growth rate were observed in BC678, while the highest relative consumption rates were recorded in BC678 and 703. According to the oviposition patterns, the highest number of eggs was laid on 703 followed by BC678. Notably, the emergence of normal adults from larvae reared on azadirachtin-treated maize was significantly lower than in controls. Based on the cluster analysis results, BC678 and 703 were identified as the preferred varieties for this moth, while Simon and Valbom revealed tolerance traits, indicating their potential sustainability in this pest management. Further, azadirachtin was significantly effective on disrupting the nutritional efficiency and egg hatching rate of this pest, suggesting its potential as a botanical in P. interpunctella management strategies.
Keywords
Nutritional indices
Development
Food consumption
Indian meal moth
Mortality
Subjects
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 © 2026 by the authors. Licensee SCU, Ahvaz, Iran. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0 license) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Plant Protection (Scientific Journal of Agriculture)
Volume 48, Issue 4
Autumn 2026
Pages 87-102