The research on the insecticidal activities of Artemisia sphaerocephala extract

Artemisia sphaerocephala is a typical eremophyte living in the migratory dunes, and has adopted very well to the extreme climates of arid desert areas; as such, it is usually used as a sand-fixation plant to improve and aid in the recovery of desert environments. The insecticidal activities of the extract obtained from this plant against Tetranychus cinnabarinus and Spodoptera litura are reported for the first time. The phytotoxic activities of this extract on rape, alfalfa, red clover, and bluegrass have also been evaluated in this study. The results of these tests have shown that the extract has obvious acaricidal effects on the two insects and no significant effect on the growths of the host plants. The growths of alfalfa and bluegrass improved under lower concentrations of this extract. The acaricidal activity of the extract was more than 60% at concentrations of 333 μg·mL-1, whereas, the insecticidal activity was more than 50% when concentrations were 20 μg·mL-1. Under the concentrations of 50 and 25 μg·mL-1, respectively, growths of alfalfa and bluegrass were promoted more or less, and the inhibited growth rates of red clover and rape were less than 20%.