Insecticidal and repellent potential of citrus essential oils against Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

In this study citrus oils extracted from citrus seeds were tested on different growth stages of t. castaneum,an important pest of stored grains. on adults lc50 of different citrus seed oils were 5.47%,7.70%,10.79% and 11.79% for rough lemon (citrus jambhiri),freutrall early (citrus reticulate),kinnow (citrus reticulate) and red blood orange (citrus sinensis),respectively. while for grubs,lc50s were 11.27%,17.31%,106.85% and 111.20% for c. jambhiri,c. reticulate,c. sinensis and c. reticulate,respectively. rough lemon (c. jambhiri) showed lowest lt50 of 6.89 h and 4.06 h against adults and grubs,respectfully. in case of repellency,c. jambhiri gave lowest rd50s value (4.40%) against adults when compared with other citrus cultivars. the presence of limonoids in citrus extracts is therefore a significant indicator for pest control that needs to be exploited further. copyright 2015 zoological society of pakistan.