Toxicity of nanoemulsion formulas of botanical insecticide from Pinus merkusii and Moringa oleifera essential oil using inversion phase and homogenization methods against corn planthopper

The corn planthopper Stenocranus pacificus Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) is an invasive pest in Indonesia and poses a significant threat to corn crops, potentially leading to crop failure. Currently, farmers heavily rely on synthetic insecticides for pest control. Therefore, it is imperative to explore more environmentally friendly pest control methods, such as the use of plant-based insecticides. Developing nanoemulsion formulations for these plant-based insecticides can enhance the efficacy of their secondary metabolites in pest management. This study aims to assess the toxicity of nanoemulsion-based vegetable insecticides derived from essential oils extracted from pinecones (Pinus merkusii) and moringa seeds (Moringa oleifera) against the corn planthopper S. pacificus in both the inversion and homogenization phases. The distillation method was used to extract the essential oils. The toxicity of the nanoemulsion was tested using contact method. The results of the analysis with Polo-PC toxicity at 96 hours after treatment showed that the homogenization method of the essential oil nanoemulsion from P. merkusii was the most toxic to S. pacificus nymphs with LC50 and LC95 values of 0.06% and 0.28% compared to the type of essential oil from M. oleifera with LC50 and LC95 values of 0.12% and 0.98%. The homogenization method is more toxic than the inversion phase method. The lowest LC50 and LC95 values were in the phase inversion method with P. merkusii essential oils of 0.12% and 1.53% compared to M. oleifera essential oils with LC50 and LC95 values of 0.13% and 5.72%