Paper Details

Name: Kumari Ruchika, Kanika Choudhary, Dixit Sharma, Alka Rana, Pankaj Thakur, Sachin Upmanyu and Sunil Kumar
Email: sunilibes@gmail.com
Country: India

Year: 2025
Volume: Volume-12, Issue-1 (January-June)
Page Number: 116-128
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16418700

ABSTRACT
Megaselia halterata (Diptera: Phoridae), commonly known as the
scuttle fly is cosmopolitan insect pest. M. scalaris poses a significant
threat to agriculture as it can infest various crops including
mushrooms, causing 30-70% yield losses. The current research
explores the potential use of silver nanoparticles synthesized from
Melia azedarach (Chinaberry) (MA-AgONPs) in combating the
mushroom pest Megaselia halterata on Agaricus bisporus. The
biosynthesis of AgONPs was confirmed through various
characterization techniques, i.e., UV-visible spectroscopy, x-ray
diffraction, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning
electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In vivo
experiments demonstrated the efficacy of MA-AgONPs in reducing
the emergence of adult M. halterata and minimizing larval damage to
A. bisporus mushrooms. The highest reduction in adult emergence
(94%) and the least sporophore damage (5.12–5.34%) were achieved
at a concentration of 50 ppm. Additionally, this treatment yielded the
highest mushroom production (4.74 kg/bag), surpassing both the
methanolic extract application (4.60 kg/bag) and control treatments.
Furthermore, in vitro experiments revealed a concentration and time
dependent increase in the mortality of M. halterata larvae. The
highest mortality rate (91.67%) was observed at a concentration of 50
ppm after 48 hours. The green-synthesized MA-AgONPs shows
greater effectiveness as compared to methanolic leaf extract as
evident by lower LC₅₀ and LC₉₀ values. These findings suggest that
Melia azedarach-derived AgONPs present a promising biocontrol
solution for sustainable mushroom cultivation.
Keywords: Megaselia halterata, Melia azedarach, Agaricus
bisporus, green synthesis, Silver oxide nanoparticles, bio-efficacy