Protection by Custard Apple, Annona squamosa l. Ethyl acetate Extract to Stored Wheat against Larvae of Khapra bettle, Trogoderma granarium Everts

Annonaceae (Custard apple family) ex-tracts have demonstrated their insecticidal po-tential against a variety of insect pests. This study is aimed to determine the protective role of ethyl acetate extract of custard apple seeds against larvae of Trogoderma granarium Everts, (khapra beetle). Ethyl acetate extract were ob-tained by soxhlet extraction, and was further fractionated by column chromatography. 11 fractions were collected and tested against neo-nate larvae of khapra beetle. Fraction IX showed highest toxicity to neonate larvae; hence it is selected for grain treatment of wheat. The order of toxicity based on LC50 values of different frac-tions for neonate larvae were IX (10.04 mg/l) > VIII (12.59 mg/l) > X (19.52 mg/l) > VII (53.63 mg/l) > XI (130.44 mg/l) > VI (204.78 mg/l) > V (322.23 mg/l) > III (798.71 mg/l). Grain treatment with fraction IX of ethyl acetate extract provided excellent protection to wheat.