Efficacy of three diatomaceous earth formulations against cowpea beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), on bean
Nermin Öztekin and Çetin Mutlu
Laboratory experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of three diatomaceous earth (DE) formulations (two local Aydın and Ankara) and Silicosec® (Biofa, Germany) against Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)adults on bean at 25 and 30°C. DEs were treated with three doses (200, 400 and 600 mg/kg) and control. The adult mortality was assessed after 2, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21. day of application (DAT). The highest mortality rate (100%) on the cowpea beetle was recorded for Ankara DE on 5. DAT at 25 °C with 600 ppm, followed by Aydın and SilicoSec® DE (84.97% and 63.47%). The biological activity of local DE increased with increasing application dose, exposure time and temperature. The highest mortality at 30 °C was determined for SilicoSec® (100%) with 600 ppm on 2. DAT followed by Ankara and Aydın (94.95 and 94.59% respectively). After 3 DAT, 600 ppm dose showed the highest efficacy all three DEs. There was no new generation emergence of all DEs treatment. It was concluded that the local DEs (Ankara and Aydın) have a high potential to be used for control of C. maculatus adults damage for storage bean.