Terpenoids - Effective Agents for the Control of Tribolium Confusum

Tribolium confusum a serious cosmopolitan stored grain pest has become resistant to several traditional insecticides used as grain protectants. Natural terpenoids, Forskolin, Betulinic acid and Andrographolide which could mimic juvenile hormone activity are used for controlling the population of Tribolium confusum,the confused flour beetle . All the three terpenoids used were effective in inducing varied morphological abnormalities and inhibited adult emergence. They also hindered ovarian development, affecting the fertility and reproductive potentiality of Tribolium confusum. Considering the percent inhibition of adult emergence as a main index, Andrographolide proved to be the most effective of the three terpenoids tested, having great potential to use as a grain protectant. Andrographolide which showed maximum inhibition of adult emergence also inhibited protein synthesis significantly, yielding a weapon for the control of Tribolium confusum.