Efficacy of Some Nano-Organic Formulations and Their Normal Formulations against the Black Cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel)

Normal formulations of some organic chemicals were developed to nano-organic chemicals and tested against the fifth instar larvae of the black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon. These organic chemicals include etofenprox, imidacloprid and indoxacarb. The nanosizes of these formulations ranged between 246 to 390 nm. The loading capacities were 60.7 ± 5.7, 60.7 ± 5 and 52.0 ± 6.3% for etofenprox, indoxacarb, and imidacloprid, respectively. The results found that etofenprox was the most potent insecticide followed by indoxacarb and imidacloprid in both formulations (normal and nano). The LC50s were 1.7, 2.5, and 13.6 ppm for nanoetofenprox, nanoindoxacarb, and nanoimidacloprid, respectively. The corresponding results with normal formulations were 9.1, 17.5, and 51.1 ppm, respectively. The results found that also the nanoformulations with all tested compounds were more potent than the normal formulation with all tested insecticides. Nanoetofenprox, nanoimidacloprid, and nanoindoxacarb were five, four, and seven times more effective than normal formulations. The results confirmed that the nanoformulations can be used instead of the normal formulations against the larvae of A. ipsilon to reduce the hazards of insecticides to nontarget organisms, the cost of insecticides application, insecticide residues in food and quantities of insecticides used.