Preparation and Thermal Protease Stability of Biopesticide to Control the Pomacea Canaliculata’s Eggs

The snail of Pomacea canaliculata attacks young leaves and stem of paddy, thus causing great losses to farmers in rice-producing countries. In general, farmers prefer to use chemical methods to eradicate the snail because of efficacy reason. However, since the chemical methods might not environmental friendly, it is necessary to find an alternative bio-based effective method for controlling the snail. In the present paper, we are reporting the preparation of biopesticide for disrupting the snail’s eggs hatching process based on the action of immobilized protease. The immobilization was meant for maintaining enzyme stability and activity rather than for recycling purposes. Hence, it is preferable to use a simple immobilization method and cheaper but larger surface area of support material. For this purpose, protease was immobilized through adsorption onto mesoporous activated carbon of rice husk and formulated to form biopesticide. It was found that the optimum temperature for immobilized protease was at 30oC. The enzyme was stable at 20oC to 60oC with average activity of 0.034 U/ml and 0.033 U/ml. The high thermal stability of the immobilized protease promises its application in the tropical countries as a potent biopesticide for Pomacea canaliculata’s eggs.