Abstract:
Mosquito-borne illnesses are caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes
which include malaria, dengue, west nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever, filariasis, japanese
encephalitis and zika virus. Newer and safer tools are urgently needed for mosquito control.
Stored-product insect pests are responsible for considerable quantitative and qualitative losses
of agricultural stored products like peas, cowpea etc. The cowpea weevil Callosobruchus
maculatus is considered as the most destructive pests in stored grains and grain-derived
products. Therefore in this study the effect of monometallic nanoparticles synthesized from
Lawsonia inermis for the sustainable control of Anopheles stephensi and Callosobruchus
maculates was examined in laboratory condition. Copper nanoparticles were produced by using
the leaf extract of Lawsonia inermis which was characterized by using UV–vis, FTIR spectroscopy,
scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX), and X-ray diffraction
analyses (XRD). After biophysical characterization, the Li-Cu NP at various concentrations was
tested for its toxicity against young instar of A. stephensi and C. maculates. From these results it
is evident that the toxicity was higher as the concentration increases. Even though Lawsonia
inmeris has its own toxicity against this vector at the concentration of 20, 40, 60, 80 and
100ppm, Li-NP dominated in the larval mortality when treated with 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10ppm. In the
case of stored pest the toxicity was at 0-97% when exposed with the concentrations of 1, 1.5, 2,
2.5, and 3ppm after 72 h exposure time. Overall, the laboratory studies have shown that the
formulated Li-copper nanoparticle could be a good alternative for the control of the A. stephensi
and stored pest C. maculates. However, the present research demonstrated simultaneous of the
bionano formulations against vector and stored pests.
