RESUMO
The present study evaluates the nature of feeding damage of Epilachna vigintioctopunctata on leaves of Solanum melongena L. and antifeedant activities of essential oil formulations against E. vigintioctopunctata. Investigations were made on the morphological and anatomical damage caused by the feeding activity of the adults and grubs of E. vigintioctopunctata. Adult E. vigintioctopunctata scraped the green matter of the upper and lower sides of the leaves of Solanum melongena leaving behind only a network of veins. This characteristic scraping made the leaves papery and the infested eggplants exhibited inter venal damage or holes on the leaves. The reduction percentage of leaf fresh weight and leaf dry weight in infested leaves after one generation were 11.4 and 15.2%, respectively. In the grub infested leaves of eggplant, fully damaged epidermis, parenchyma cells and phloem cells of vascular bundles were observed. The total mean percentage of infested leaf damage was 12.75 +/- 0.43%. Maximum antifeedant activities of 80.06, 61.92% were observed in oil formulation III and formulation I, respectively at 100 ppm concentration against the fourth instars grub of E. vigintioctopunctata. This would be a good alternative for the chemical pesticides.
