Aphicidal and antifeedant activity of Synandrospadix vermitoxicus extracts against Myzus persicae on potato plants

Potato crops are kept virus-free by controlling aphid vectors through control schemes that require multiple treatments with insecticides. The aphid Myzus persicae has developed different mechanisms of resistance to insecticides, and there is a growing need of sources for new, more efficient insecticides. Synandrospadix vermitoxicus (Griseb.) Engl.—an Araceae family native to the northwestern region of Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia—has been locally described as having insecticidal properties against insect larvae and could be a potential source of new natural insecticides against aphids. We tested the antifeedant and aphicidal effects of two extracts from the tubers of S. vermitoxicus, ethanolic and hexanic, on M. persicae. We treated potato leaves with the extracts to assess their antifeedant effect by measuring host preference changes in M. persicae. Then, we evaluated its aphicidal effect by offering the extracts to aphids through artificial diets, and we tested the aphid probing behavior by electrical penetration graph. We also analyzed the extracts for the main classes of secondary metabolites. We found that both extracts have antifeedant effects, with the hexanic being the strongest, and aphid probing behavior was accordingly affected on leaves treated with hexanic extract. While the ethanolic extract affected the survival of aphids fed on artificial diets, the hexanic extract did not. The analysis of S. vermitoxicus extracts shows an array of flavonoids and triterpenoids compounds. Our results show that the tubers of this plant could be a source for a novel product with potential use on the control of M. persicae on potato crops.