Biogenic silver nanoparticles from Trichodesma indicum aqueous leaf extract against Mythimna separata and evaluation of its larvicidal efficacy

Abstract

The present exploration is focused on the bio-fabrication of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) using Trichodesma indicum aqueous leaf extract as a reducing agent. The synthesized Ag NPs were productively characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, and TEM studies. The photosynthesis of Ag NPs was done at room temperature for 24 h and at 60°C. The green synthesis of spherical-shaped Ag NPs bio-fabricated from T. indicum with a face centred cubic structure showed average particle sizes of 20–50 nm, which is inconsistent with the particle size calculated by the XRD Scherer equation and TEM analysis. We further explored the larvicidal efficacy of biosynthesized Ag NPs with leaf extracts of T. indicum against Mythimna separata. The results showed that Ag NPs (20–50 nm) of T. indicum possess good larvicidal activity against M. separata with an LC50 of 500 ppm. Thus, we can advocate that Ag NPs of 20–50 nm size extracted from T. indicum may be considered in the pest management programme of M. separata in future.

Keywords

• insect pest control
• larvicidal
• Mythimna separata
• nanoformulation
• silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs)