Kentucky State University
2-Tridecanone: A New Natural Product for Pest Control on Vegetables
Institution
Kentucky State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
George F. Antonious; Tejinder S. Kochhar
Abstract
Health hazards and potential ecological damage created by widespread synthetic pesticide use have become a great public concern. Alternatives to synthetic insecticides are urgently needed to control vegetable insects. The use of natural products for insect control may impart a selective advantage to plants by inhibiting, repulsing, and even killing non-adapted organisms that feed upon or compete with the plant. Developing efficient natural products with low mammalian toxicity and little or no impact on environmental quality for use against vegetable insects is needed. 2-Tridecanone (hendecyl methylketone) extract was prepared from the leaves of Lycopersicon hirsutum f. glabratum Mull (accession PI 134417), an accession that contains a significant amount of 2-tridecanone. The extract was used for spraying 45 day old pepper (Capsicum annum), squash (Cucurbita maxima), radish (Raphanus sativus), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), broccoli (Brassica oleracea), Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris), and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seedlings. No phytotoxicity was observed on the leaves following spraying with 2-tridecanone extract. 2-tridecanone residues on the leaves of the seven sprayed vegetables was identified and quantified using a GC/MSD. The initial deposits of 2-tridecanone were highest on pepper leaves and lowest on broccoli leaves. Decline of 2-tridecanone residues on the leaves as a function of time indicated that half-life (T1/2) values of 2-tridecanone ranged from 1.3 hrs on squash to 4.0 hrs on broccoli leaves. 2-Tridecanone has been shown to be potent agent against a variety of insects and spider mites and could be a potential substitute for many synthetic pesticides used on vegetables.
2-Tridecanone: A New Natural Product for Pest Control on Vegetables
Health hazards and potential ecological damage created by widespread synthetic pesticide use have become a great public concern. Alternatives to synthetic insecticides are urgently needed to control vegetable insects. The use of natural products for insect control may impart a selective advantage to plants by inhibiting, repulsing, and even killing non-adapted organisms that feed upon or compete with the plant. Developing efficient natural products with low mammalian toxicity and little or no impact on environmental quality for use against vegetable insects is needed. 2-Tridecanone (hendecyl methylketone) extract was prepared from the leaves of Lycopersicon hirsutum f. glabratum Mull (accession PI 134417), an accession that contains a significant amount of 2-tridecanone. The extract was used for spraying 45 day old pepper (Capsicum annum), squash (Cucurbita maxima), radish (Raphanus sativus), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), broccoli (Brassica oleracea), Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris), and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) seedlings. No phytotoxicity was observed on the leaves following spraying with 2-tridecanone extract. 2-tridecanone residues on the leaves of the seven sprayed vegetables was identified and quantified using a GC/MSD. The initial deposits of 2-tridecanone were highest on pepper leaves and lowest on broccoli leaves. Decline of 2-tridecanone residues on the leaves as a function of time indicated that half-life (T1/2) values of 2-tridecanone ranged from 1.3 hrs on squash to 4.0 hrs on broccoli leaves. 2-Tridecanone has been shown to be potent agent against a variety of insects and spider mites and could be a potential substitute for many synthetic pesticides used on vegetables.