Comparative efficacy of Annona squamosa and Azadirachta indica extracts against Boophilus microplus Izatnagar isolate.

In the search of developing herbal acaricides, eight medicinal plants were screened for their efficacy against Boophilus microplus, the widely distributed tick species in India. Of the seven extracts screened, the extracts prepared from the Annona squamosa seed showed very high level of efficacy (70.8%) after 24 h of treatment. The effect of treatment on oviposition of the survived ticks was also assessed, and a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in the reproductive index was noted in comparison to control. When efficacy of the in vitro optimized concentration of A. squamosa was compared with previously tested extract of Azadirachta indica in in vivo model, it was observed that the extracts prepared from A. indica is more efficacious than the extracts of A. squamosa. A comparable efficacy against B. microplus fed on animals treated with herbal extracts and commonly used synthetic acaricide was noted. The possibility of using the herbal extracts in IPM format for the management of ticks is discussed.