Determinación de la actividad insecticida o repelente del extracto acuoso de los hongos de naranjas Citrus sinensis sobre hormigas Lasius niger de una finca orgánica del Chontal.

Abstract

The purpose of this research work was to determine the insecticidal or repellent activity of the aqueous extract of the orange fungus Citrus sinensis on Lasius niger ants in an organic farm in El Chontal of Imbabura province, for which it was carried out in two phases: the first one consisted in the elaboration of the solutions and microbiological characterization under laboratory conditions, there, two selective culture media were used for Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) fungi and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and a the Potato Dextrose (PD) liquid mass. In addition, three experimental solutions were prepared: Th (aqueous extract of fungal infected orange peel). Tn (aqueous extract of healthy orange peel), Ta (solution of isolated fungus inoculum), from these, three dilutions were made to obtain three concentrations at 100%, 50% and 25%, additionally, a negative control with simple water and a positive control with antidust was tested. The second phase consisted of the in vivo tests carried out on the anthill routes of El Chontal community. The number of ants was counted before and after each application. The species of fungi present in the orange peels belong to the genus Penicillium spp. The solutions Th, Tn and Ta presented a repellence percentage of 67,79%; 54,18% and 8,79 respectively, while the percentage of deaths was 8,32%; 3,58%; 1,49%; for each solution. This study concludes that aqueous solutions prepared from peels of orange infected by Penicillium spp have a fundamentally repellent action on ants, which differs from the insecticides that cause their death. It is recommended to expand the research on the potential use of this bioinsecticide, in both dose and time of exposure on the ants their possible commercialization.