Oviposition Deterrents for the Limabean Pod Borer, Etiella zinckenella(TREITSCHKE)(Lepidoptera:Pyralidae)from Populus nigra L.c.v.Italica Leaves

The limabean pod borer Etiella zinckenella was deterred from ovipositing on soybean plants treated with the methanolic leaf extract of Populus nigra L. cv Italica. The potent deterrent activity was found in the ethyl acetate-soluble, neutral to weakly-acidic fraction of the leaf extract. Successive fractionation with preparative TLC, open column chromatography and HPLC yielded five active constituents. These were analyzed with ^1H-NMR, MS, and IR spectrometries and identified as eugenol, pyrocatechol, salicyl alcohol and methyl esters of cinnamic acid and p-hydroxycinnamic acid. Eugenol was the most active, followed by pyrocatechol.