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Vladimir Borek, Leslie R. Elberson, Joseph P. McCaffrey, Matthew J. Morra, Toxicity of Aliphatic and Aromatic Isothiocyanates to Eggs of the Black Vine Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Journal of Economic Entomology, Volume 88, Issue 5, 1 October 1995, Pages 1192–1196, https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/88.5.1192
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Abstract
Plant-delived isothiocyanates are toxic to a number of soil organisms; however, the differential toxicity of various isothiocyanates to many soil-borne plant pests has not been determined. We tested the contact toxicity of methyl, propyl, allyl, phenyl, benzyl, and 2-phenylethyl isothiocyanates to eggs of the black vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus (F.). Eggs were collected every 2 d from a colony of field-collected weevils and preconditioned over a 5-d period. To reduce the variability of responses, only eggs with melanized chorions were used for all bioassays. Eggs were dipped into acetone solutions of isothiocyanates for 2 min. Controls were treated with acetone alone. Treated eggs were incubated for 14 d at 24 ± 2°C and 100% RH. Mortality response curves of black vine weevil eggs were analyzed using probit analysis. All isothiocyanates tested were toxic to weevil eggs; however, isothiocyanates containing an aromatic moiety (phenyl, benzyl, and 2-phenylethyl) were considerably more toxic than aliphatic (methyl, propyl, and allyl) isothiocyanates. Average mortality in acetone-treated controls was <6%. These results suggest that soil amendments of Brassica spp. tissues producing aromatic isothiocyanates may have greater insecticidal potential than those producing aliphatic isothiocyanates.
