Developmental formulation of sustainable plant consortium based pesticide and its prominent pesticidal activity

Abstract Chemical pesticides in crop protection pose long‐term threats to living beings due to their harmful side effects. Plant consortium, a mixture of diverse plant extracts and biomedicine, has gained attention for integrated pest management. Developmental formulations increase bioavailability of bioactive constituents, enhancing desired biological activities. The present study is undertaken to evaluate the pesticidal activity of the plant consortium composed of Zingiber officinale, Allium sativum , and Capsicum annuum against Spodoptera litura under laboratory condition. Followed by measuring pesticidal activity, ecotoxicity of prepared formulation was investigated. The plant consortium was prepared from the selected plant extracts through green science principles. The presence of possible bioactive compounds in plant consortium prepared from ethanolic extracts of selected plants was determined using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC‐MS). Pesticidal activity of the prepared consortium was investigated against S. litura by determination of cumulative mortality, lethal concentration. Active principles of pesticidal activity associated with plant consortium was readily extracted in ethanol. Prepared consortium revealed notable pesticidal activity against S. litura larval stages by recording high mortality and least LC 50 and LC 90. The plant consortium has not shown any ecotoxic effect which was confirmed by no sign of toxic effects on plant growth parameters of seedlings. Ecotoxicity of proposed consortium was also studied by measuring the soil parameters and phytotoxicity assessment. The present study suggests the possible utilization of presently proposed plant consortium as an effective pesticidal agent without affecting ecosystem.