Data were collected from 10 randomly sampled plants of the middle three rows in each plot of the experiment. Spray applications were done thrice at two weeks interval. The aqueous leaf extracts were compared with respect to their efficacy against sesame webworm incidence and damaged plant parts during the study. The description, and calculation of percentages of insect incidence and damaged plant parts were done as clearly indicated below.

Incidence (INC %): the ratio of sesame webworm infested plants to the total plants in a plot was calculated using followiing equation:

Leaf damage (LD %): leaves that have symptoms of sesame webworm attack per plant were recorded. Bored and webbed leaves were taken as damaged leaves.

Flower damage (FD %): Damaged flowers per plant were recorded. webbed and tunneled flowers were considered as damaged flowers.

Capsule damage (CD %): bored capsules per plant were considered as damaged capsules

Seed loss (SL %): the ratio of seeds per each damaged capsule to the seeds per each healthy capsule was calculated using the following equation.

Plant height: Measured in cm from the soil surface to the tip of the plant at 50% physiological maturity.

Number of capsule plant^-1: Counts were made at maturity from sampled plants.

Number of seeds capsule^-1: Counted at maturity from sampled plants.

Hundred seed weight: Harvested grain in each plot was weighed using a sensitive balance.

Biomass yield: Determined by harvesting, drying (outdoors) and weighing the middle row of plots. Grain yield: Plants harvested from the middle row of plots were manually threshed, cleaned, sun-dried, weighed and determined after adjusting the moisture content to 12.5% ​​with a grain moisture meter.

Avoidable yield loss: computed from the grain yield recorded in untreated plots and those receiving maximum protection against sesame webworm. It was computed by:

Where: C = avoidable loss (%); a = grain yield in protected plots, and b = grain yield in unprotected plots.

Sesame webworm incidence was found to be significantly lower (p<0.01) in all treatments compared to controls (Table 2). All aqueous extracts showed bio-pesticidal activity by reducing sesame webworms to significant levels. Among the aqueous extracts, A. indica leaf extract had the lowest (28.89%) prevalence, followed by R. communis leaf extract (29.63%) both of which were statistically similar with dimethoate 40% EC (standard test). The highest (82.59%) sesame webworms incidence was recorded from the controls which was significantly higher than the treated plots (Table 2). This result is consistent with those who reported a significant reduction in webworm infestation using A. indica extract [28]. A. indica leaf and seed kernel extracts at 30 ml/l are highly effective in controlling larval populations of the sesame webworm [29]. Therefore, 15% A. indica water extract performed well over two seasons, resulting in 100% mortality under laboratory conditions [28]. Higher mortality of P. brassicae (19.6% and 18.5%) was observed in M. azedarach and A. indica aqueous extracts [30]. Mortality of tomato leaf miners ranged from 33% to 46.7% in 24 hours, reaching 100% mortality 4 days after application of A. indica extract [30]. It is also reported that an aqueous extract of R. communis was toxic to P. brassicae, resulting in 8.9% mortality on cabbage [31]..Similarly, more than 80% mortality of whiteflies and 70% of scale insects were reduced by A. indica leaf extract [25]. [24] Investigated 80% and 63% mortality of tomato leaf miner by spraying R. communis oil and A. indica leaf extracts. Azadirachtin, a compound derived from the neem tree, caused insecticidal activity by interfering with hormones that control insect molting [32]. A neem-based formulation was found to be effective in reducing sesame pests by 5%, and nimbecidin was one of the commercial formulations tested to be effective against sesame leaf webbers [29]. It has also been reported a repellent effect of an aqueous extract of M. azedarach and A. indica against larvae of P. xylostella [33]. The antifeedant activity of lantana extract was demonstrated by [34] who reported that complete inhibition of cabbage leaves treated with 1% L. camara against P. brassicae. Similarly [35], reported that an aqueous extract of L. camara reduced the invasion of Helopeltis theivora from 38.90% to 27.63% on tea leaves. Based on the results obtained and discussed above, A. indica and R. communis were highly effective against sesame webworms (Table 2).

Statistical analysis shows that all aqueous extracts significantly reduced leaf damage compared to controls (Table 2). The lowest mean percentage of leaf damage was recorded in plots treated with A. indica (8.56%) and R. communis (8.68%) compared to controls (21.8%). This result is consistent with those who reported that spraying A. indica leaf extract at 30 ml/l condensed the percentage of leaf, flower and capsule damage [24, 36]. Also reported that A. indica and R. communis were as effective as dimethoate 40% EC in reducing tomato leaf and fruit by tomato leaf miners. Application of A Indica leaf and seed kernel extracts were effectively controlled sesame webber populations with two sprays, pooled over a period of time, and the sprays also affected sesame leaf, flower and capsule damage [37]. Similarly [38], reported 100% protection to cabbage leaves with petroleum ether extract at 1% of A. indica, R. communis and L. camara against Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata.

Floral damage was significantly (p<0.05) affected by the application of the aqueous extract over the control (Table 2). Comparing all extracts, plots treated with A. indica (10.2%) followed by R. communis (12.64%) scored a lower percentage of flower damage, whereas the control showed a higher percentage (20.88%) of flower damages. Similar results were reported by [37] who found that the application of 5% A. indica leaf and seed extract reduced flower damage by 14.41% and 12.92%, respectively. R. communis (12.64%), N. glauca (13.32) and L. camara (14.28) were significantly comparable to dimethoate 40% EC (standard test) but significantly superior to the control. In addition, R. patientia, P. dodecandra and T. minuta was not significantly different between them and with dimethoate 40% EC, but was still higher than the untreated controls.

ANOVA results showed that all plots treated with aqueous extracts showed the lowest capsule damage compared to controls (Table 2). Among the extracts, minimal capsule damage (2.66%) was recorded by R. communis, which was statistically at par with A. indica, L. camara, R. patientia, N. glauca and P. dodecandra aqueous extract treated plots except T. minuta (4.93%). The extent of capsule damage caused by T. minuta is twice as large as R. communis, indicating superior damage reduction potential compared to controls (11.51%). The results are consistent with [37] who reported that spraying an aqueous extract of 5% A. indica seed extract was (10.78%) better in reducing capsule damage than the untreated (24.61%) control [39]. also reported that the use of A. indica aqueous extract reduced capsule damage to 7.75% compared to 11.44% in controls. Minimal (2.03–2.43%) capsule damage was also reported by spraying A. indica seed extract in combination with other IPM sequences [40]. Similarly [41], reported that 19.72% to 21.62% damage to sesame pods was evident when unprotected and decreased from 3.02% to 3.12% damage when protected.

Statistical analysis shows that all treated plots were found to reduce seed loss more than untreated controls (Table 2). Plots sprayed with R. communis (23.42%) followed by A. indica (29.67) observed the lowest percentage of seed loss per damaged capsule, but the highest percentage (79.34%) of seed loss per damaged capsule was recorded in the control group. All aqueous extracts significantly reduced seed losses compared to the control but they didn’t show significant variations among themselves except N. glauca which scored 49.77% of seed loss per the broken capsule. This result was in agreement with the findings of [28] who found that an aqueous extract of A. indica at 15% prevented feeding of all larvae tested, while the larvae treated with 10% A. indica having a 2.2 mg/larva (1.8%) compared to untreated control 3.5 mg/larva (31.4%) and starvation control seed loss was 0.62 mg/larva (33.2%). In the current study, we observed statistically equivalent seed loss by sesame webworms with the application of A. indica and R. communis, but far superior to controls (Table 2).

A significant variation (P < 0.05) in plant height was absorbed when the aqueous extract was tested (Table 3). The highest plant height (113.22) was recorded from the R. communis treated plot and the shortest plant height (91.28) was obtained from the untreated control. This result indicated that sesame webworm infestation had a significant effect on plant height, by causing plant growth inhibition. The rest of the aqueous extract was significantly comparable to the synthetic insecticide (dimethoate 40 EC) used as a standard test in this study (Table 3).

ANOVA shows a significant (P < 0.05) difference in the number of capsules per plant (Table 3). The highest (35.33) number of capsules per plant was recorded by a standard test (dimethoate 40% EC). Correspondingly, the highest number of capsules per plant was recorded from aqueous leaf extracts of A. indica (29.48), N. glauca (29.44) and R. communis (29.38), each of which was significantly comparable, but the lowest number of capsules per plant (17.61) was observed in the untreated control (Table 3). This result indicates that the high number of pods may be due to the presence of healthy plants (leaves and flowers) capable of producing a large number of fertile pods.

Statistical analysis shows that all aqueous extracts significantly (P < 0.05) increased the number of seeds per capsule over the control (Table 3). Aqueous leaf extracts were examined and the highest number of seeds per capsule (112.56) was obtained from A. indica, followed by R. communis leaf extract, yielding 103.33 seeds per capsule, each of which was significantly equivalent with dimethoate 40% EC (standard test). However, the lowest number of seeds per capsule (83.22) was found in the control. This result confirmed that the lower number of seeds per capsule in the control plots was probably due to a higher percentage of damaged plant parts (leaves, flowers, capsules). This limits the production of healthy capsules and reduces the number of seeds.

A significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed between the aqueous extract and the control on hundred seed weight, except for L. camara, which was not significantly different from the control (Table 3). The highest seed weight (0.46 g) was obtained from A. indica leaf extract, but was significantly comparable to the standard test dimethoate 40% EC while the lowest (0.25 g) seed weight was recorded from the control plot. There was no significant difference between R. patientia, N. glauca, R. communis and T. minuta extracts on the seed weight, however, all of which were significantly varied from the untreated controls.

Application of different aqueous extracts showed significant (P < 0.05) variation in biomass yield (Table 3). Among the extracts, higher biomass yields were observed from A. indica (3.09 t ha^-1), followed by R. communis (3.03 t ha^-1), T. minuta (2.79 t ha^-1) and R. patientia (2.77 t ha^-1) compared with controls (1.73 t ha^-1). All were statistically equivalent to dimethoate 40% EC (standard test). Similarly, aqueous extracts of A. indica and M. azedarach repelled the highest number of P. brassicae, protecting 94% and 89.2% of cabbage foliage’s [30]. They also found that aqueous extracts of A. indica (81.8%) and M. azedarach (81.7%) provided statistically the same protection against cabbage leaves at 10%, however maximum protection was provided at 5% of M. azedarach (88.3%) and A. indica (82.5%) against P. brassicae. The remaining extracts did not provide better biomass yield than the control. In other expression, L. camara, P. dodecandra, and N. glauca produced biomass yields that were statistically similar to controls.

ANOVA showed a significant (P < 0.05) difference in grain yield (Table 3). The highest grain yields (0.71 t ha^-1) were harvested from plots treated with A. indica followed by R. communis (0.53 t ha^-1), and statistically at par with dimethoate 40% EC the standard test. However, the lowest grain yield (0.22 t ha^-1) was harvested from the untreated control plot. All the aqueous extracts showed no significant variation in grain yield among themselves, except for A. indica which produced the highest grain yield. This finding was consistent with the results of [37] reported that higher seed yields (529.80 kg ha^-1) and (495.66 kg ha^-1) were harvested in plots sown with 5% A. indica seed extract in the summer and kharif seasons, respectively. Maximum seed yield (8.21 q ha^-1) was also recorded by spraying A. indica seed kernel extract in combination with other IPM techniques and sequences [40]. [41] stated that the highest (921.42 kg ha^-1) sesame yield was recorded under protected conditions and the lowest (521.48 kg ha^-1) yield was harvested under unprotected conditions [42]. Who reported that the highest sesame yield (714 kg ha^-1) was recorded in plots treated with dimethoate 40% EC applied at 2 l ha^-1 to sesame webworms. In this study, aqueous extracts of A. indica and R. communis were unexpectedly found to protect both biomass and grain yield over the control against sesame webworms (Table 3).

The avoidable yield loss and yield gain over the control is presented in Table 3. The highest (0.71 t ha-1) grain yield was harvested from A. indica treated plot and the lowest (0.22 t ha-1) grain yield was harvested from the untreated control plot. This indicates that the greatest avoidable yield loss was from A. indica (69.01%) and R. communis (58.50) treated plots compared with other aqueous extracts due to sesame webworms. In contrast, the untreated control plot recorded a maximum estimated yield loss of 69.01% due to the insect infestation. In general, a yield advantage of up to 222.73% was obtained from plots treated with A. indica leaf extract, whereas overall yield increases with the different aqueous extracts used in the experiments ranged from 59% to 222.73%. This finding was consistent with [28] where 53% increase in sesame yield in plots treated with aqueous extracts of A. indica compared to untreated controls was reported. The avoidable yield loss of sesame due to webworms was found to be up to 39.73 after three times application of bio-pesticide [41]. In the same way [43], was reported a maximum of (57.60%) avoidable yield loss caused by insect pests in sesame.