Abstract Nanoparticles represent a promising technology to enhance the efficacy of bioactive materials and a large number of studies showed the effectiveness of nanostructured materials against various arthropod species of economic importance. In this work nanostructured alumina (NSA) was prepared using sol-gel method and the effect of NSA was evaluated as seed protectant against the main seed-infesting insect pests Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) (Coleoptera: Silvanidae) Stegobium paniceum (L.) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), and Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Besides, we tested the effects of NSA on seed germination and plant growth and finally, we assessed the presence of NSA as a contaminant in the leaves of bean plants germinated from NSA-treated seeds. The results showed significant insecticidal activity of NSA against the three tested species. After sixteen days, the percentage of insect mortality at the highest NSA concentration tested (400 mg kg−1) was 100.00% for S. paniceum followed by O. surinamensis (80.64%) and T. confusum (79.41%). Besides, in-vitro tests indicated that NSA has no effects on seeds germination and on radicle and shoot elongation. No effects of NSA were also observed in pot tests on the bean’s plants. No differences were recorded in the leaves area, stoma density and roots length. On the contrary, the shoot of plants from NSA-treated beans was about 66% higher than the one of the non-treated plants (shoot, 15.07 cm for the control and 22.76 cm for NSA-treated plants). Finally, no contamination by alumina particles was found by EDX-system coupled with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) on the surface of the P. vulgaris leaves obtained from NSA-treated beans. Overall, the results showed that NSA could be an effective protective agent for the control insect pests during the seeds storage.

中文翻译：

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纳米氧化铝作为种子保护剂防治三种贮藏害虫

摘要 纳米颗粒代表了一种有前途的技术，可以提高生物活性材料的功效，大量研究表明纳米结构材料对各种具有经济重要性的节肢动物物种的有效性。在这项工作中，纳米结构氧化铝 (NSA) 是使用溶胶-凝胶法制备的，并评估了 NSA 作为种子保护剂对抗主要种子害虫 Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) (Coleoptera: Silvanidae) Stegobium paniceum (L.) 的效果。 （鞘翅目：Anobiidae）和 Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val（鞘翅目：Tenebrionidae）。此外，我们测试了 NSA 对种子萌发和植物生长的影响，最后，我们评估了 NSA 作为污染物存在于 NSA 处理的种子发芽的豆类植物的叶子中。结果表明 NSA 对三个测试物种具有显着的杀虫活性。16 天后，在测试的最高 NSA 浓度（400 mg kg-1）下，S. paniceum 的昆虫死亡率百分比为 100.00%，其次是 O. surinamensis (80.64%) 和 T. confusum (79.41%)。此外，体外试验表明，NSA 对种子萌发、胚根和芽伸长没有影响。在对豆类植物的盆栽试验中也没有观察到 NSA 的影响。叶子面积、气孔密度和根长度没有记录到差异。相反，来自 NSA 处理的豆类植物的枝条比未经处理的植物（对照植物的枝条为 15.07 厘米，NSA 处理的植物为 22.76 厘米）高约 66%。最后，通过 EDX 系统结合扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 在从 NSA 处理的豆类中获得的 P. vulgaris 叶子表面上没有发现氧化铝颗粒的污染。总体而言，结果表明，NSA 可以成为种子储存过程中控制害虫的有效保护剂。