FIELD AND LABORATORY CONTROL OF CITRUS BUTTERFLY LARVAE BY USING AQUEOUS EXTRACTS OF MINT AND POMEGRANATE PLANTS

The current study aimed to demonstrate the importance of citrus crops of all kinds as food for humans or in food industries and the extent to which citrus tree productivity is affected in terms of quantity and quality by being infected with a specialized pest, the citrus butterfly larvae Papilio demoleus , which has a negative impact on trees by feeding its larval stage at all ages by chewing the tissues of young leaves and branches in addition to the fruits at the beginning of their formation, causing the plant to weaken and be infected secondary to fungal, viral and bacterial diseases.Thus, the study directed to using some methods to control the insect using the aqueous extract of mint Mentha piperita leaves and pomegranate peels Punica granatum in the laboratory and field at concentrations of (1, 2, 3, 4) %, as well as mixing the two extracts and demonstrating the extent of synergy in their effectiveness in combating the larval stage of the moth during laboratory and field control.Pomegranate extract killed the highest percentage of larvae 36.667% at a concentration of 4%, Mint leaves extract achieved the highest killing rate, which was 30% at the concentration of 4% after three days of treatment.The field treatment, Pomegranate extract achieved the highest killing rate for larvae 26.667% at 4% concentration after three days of treatment, followed by mint extract in terms of effectiveness, achieving the highest killing rate of 23.333%.The results of evaluating the synergistic effect of mixing pomegranate peel extract at a concentration of 3% with all concentrations of mint leaf extract (individually) in equal mixing ratios showed that the synergistic effect was more effective than the effectiveness of mint extract alone, as the maximum concentration of mint (4%) showed a killing rate of 43.333.% thus, the activation rate reached 13.33% compared to the effectiveness of mint leaf extract alone, which was 30%, while in the field treatment it achieved the highest killing rate of 33.333, which is less than its effectiveness in laboratory treatment.We conclude from the results of the study in general that pomegranate peel extract at all concentrations is superior to mint leaf extract in terms of effectiveness in killing citrus butterfly larvae, in addition to its synergistic effect in increasing the effectiveness of mint extract when mixed at a concentration of 3% with all concentrations of mint extract.