Susceptibility of the eggs of the field slug Deroceras reticulatum to contact with pesticides and substances of biological origin on artificial soil |
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Authors: | J IGLESIAS J CASTILLEJO A ESTER R CASTRO M J LOMBARDIA |
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Affiliation: | Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain;Applied Plant Research, PO Box 430, 8200 AK Lelystad, The Netherlands;Statistics and Operative Investigation Department, Mathematics Faculty, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain |
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Abstract: | The toxicity of 14 substances, including a number of pesticides, to the eggs of the pest slug Deroceras reticulatum was determined in laboratory experiments. Eggs were kept in contact with a precisely defined artificial soil to which a range of concentrations of the test substances had been applied. Mortality of the eggs was assessed every 24 h and the median lethal doses (LD50) were determined. The herbicides bromoxynil, ioxynil and pyridate + bromoxynil, the insecticides thiocyclam, diflubenzuron and azadirachtin, the molluscicides metaldehyde and methiocarb, and other compounds such as carvone, iron‐EDDHA, saponin, and an extract of Pongamia pinnata, killed the eggs after periods of exposure ranging from 2 to 14 days, depending on the compound and the dose. Only two compounds, the insecticides imidacloprid and teflubenzuron, failed to kill the eggs of D. reticulatum at any of the doses tested. Values of LD50 below 0.01 mg a.i. cm?2 were obtained for the herbicides bromoxynil, ioxynil and pyridate + bromoxynil, and for the biological pesticide azadirachtin. The feasibility of slug egg control in different contexts is discussed. |
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Keywords: | Deroceras reticulatum eggs slug control pesticides contact-toxicity tests |
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