Biopesticidal Potential of Sericin and Marigold Coated Silver Nanoparticles Against Major Agricultural Pests

Abstract

The pest outbreaks and the excessive use of synthetic pesticides have become a major concern for agroecosystems globally. Therefore, the current study was designed to characterize and evaluate the bio-pesticidal potential of sericin, and marigold coated silver nanoparticles (AgNps) against three agricultural pests of cotton including cotton thrips Thrips tabaci), armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella). Both the sericin and marigold silver nanoparticles were synthesized separately by using the sonication method and heat method respectively. The nanoparticles were characterized by using UV spectrometry and FTIR. The leaf dip method was used to evaluate the pesticidal activity of nanoparticles. Both the sericin and marigold conjugated AgNps (300mg/L, 200mg/L, 100mg/L and 50mg/L) showed significant bio-pesticidal activity against thrips (F_8,18=20.015, P<0.001) armyworms (F_8,18=19.097, P<0.001) and pink bollworms (F_8,18=15.786, P<0.001). Aforementioned findings of the study concluded that marigold and sericin coated silver nanoparticles solution possess bio-pesticidal activity and can be used for effective control of cotton thrips, armyworms and pink bollworms.