Comparative Efficacy of Herbal (Lemon Grass Oil and Litsea Grass oil) and Synthetic (Deltamithrin, Fipronil, Amitraz) Agents against Rhipicephalus microplus Infestation in Mithun (Bos frontalis)

Abstract

Ticks are important ectoparasites which results in economic loss in livestock industry. Therefore, the present study was undertaken with aim to study the comparative efficacy of some herbal extracts i.e. oil of Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) and Litsea grass (Litsea cubeba) and three synthetic acaricides viz. Deltamethrin, Fipronil, and Amritraz against the Rhipicephalus microplus tick infestation in mithun. Among the chemical drugs, Fipronil showed 100% efficacy followed by Amitraz (98.38%) and Deltamithrin (93.28%). The lemon grass oil on 12 days of application resulted in very high efficacy (98.00 %) comparable to synthetic acaricides (Fipronil, Amitraz and Deltamithrin), however, Litsea grass oil did not showed significant efficacy on day 12 post application. However, the Adult Immersion Test (AIT) showed dose dependent acaricidal efficacy for Deltamethrin, Fipronil and Amritraz at final concentration of undiluted, 0.40%, 0.20 %, 0.10 % and 0.05% while among the herbal acaricides in 100 % concentration, lemon grass oil showed comparable efficacy with deltamethrin (12.5 W/V) while Listea grass oil did not showed better effects. Author concludes that lemon grass oil has potential acaricidal activity and may be recommended for holistic management of nymphal stages of tick infestation and can be proved as an alternative to synthetic acaricides without adversely affecting health and environment.