Artemisia annua extracts, artemisinin and 1,8 - cineole prevent apple feeding by codling moth neonates

Codling moth, Cydia pomonella, (L.), is a cosmopolitan pest of the apple, potentially causing damage to circa 80% of the fruit by internal feeding. Control measures with broad spectrum insecticides are not environmentally friendly. Mating disruption and attract-and-kill technology are inadequate in many situations. The use of plant-derived semiochemicals for manipulation with fruit-infesting behavior of codling moth only recently was proposed. Here, we explore potential of Artemisia annua extracts, and two chemicals that this plant contains: artemisinin and 1,8-cineole for preventing apple feeding and infestation by neonate larvae of Cydia pomonella. Crude extracts from A. annua prevented fruit feeding at concentration of 1, 3 and 10 mg/ml. Artemisinin had feeding deterrent effects at 10 and 30 mg/ml, but deterrence index at this concentration was only slightly higher than that of 1 mg/ml A. annua crude extract. Deterrent effects of 1,8-cineole required much higher concentrations; 100 and 300 mg/ml. Bioassays and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography of alcohol and hexane partitioned fractions suggest that in addition to 1,8-cineole and artemisinin, in A. annua crude extract, there are some polar compounds which have deterrent activity against codling moth neonates.