INSECTICIDAL ACTIVITY OF 1,4-DIHYDROPYRIDINES AGAINST BEMISIA TABACI MEAM1 (GENN.) (HEMIPTERA: ALEYRODIDAE)

Abstract

The silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) is a pest that feeds on a wide range of herbaceous plants' phloem. This insect can cause direct damage to the hosts and transmits over 350 different species of viruses to the plants, reducing the crop productivity up to 100% in some cases. The main current strategy for pest control is the application of chemical pesticides, but the emergence of resistance to the pesticides due to prolonged and extensive use has been reported. In this study, a series of 1,4-dihydropyridine (1,4-DHPs) was synthesized through a one-pot multicomponent reaction and evaluated for their in vivo insecticidal potential against B. tabaci MEAM1 nymphs. Among the 24 compounds tested, at a concentration of 5 mg/L, compounds 10 (ethyl 2,7,7-trimethyl-4-(3-nitrophenyl)-5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxylate), 15 ethyl 4-(furan-2-yl)-2,7,7-trimethyl-5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxylate), 16 (ethyl 2,7,7-trimethyl-5-oxo-4-(thiophen-2-yl)-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxylate), and 18 (diethyl 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,6-dimethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate) displayed control efficiencies twice as high as that of the pyriproxyfen at 100 g/L), which was used as the positive control.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2025.036-046