The effects of two essential oilson thefunctional responseof Amblyseius swirskii(Acari: Phytoseiidae) fed onFrankliniella occidentalis(Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

Shirvani, Zeinab; Allahyari, Hossein; Zahedi Golpayegani, Azadeh; Talebi Jahromi, Khalil; Döker, Ismail

doi:10.22073/pja.v13i3.85086

The effects of two essential oilson thefunctional responseof Amblyseius swirskii(Acari: Phytoseiidae) fed onFrankliniella occidentalis(Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

Authors

Zeinab Shirvani ¹

Hossein Allahyari ¹

Azadeh Zahedi Golpayegani ¹

Khalil Talebi jahromi ¹

Ismail Döker ²

¹ Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

² Cukurova University, Agricultural Faculty, Department of Plant Protection, Adana, Turkey

10.22073/pja.v13i3.85086

Abstract

Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is an important generalist predator used to control several important crops' pests such as spider mites, whiteflies, and thrips. In this study, the lethal concentrations of Mentha piperita L. (Lamiaceae) and Laurus nobilis L. (Lauraceae) essential oils (EOs) were calculated on the adult stage of the Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). The side effects of EOs were investigated on the functional response of A. swirskii on F. occidentalis 1^st instar larvae. The females of A. swirskii were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations (LC₃₀ and LC₅₀) of EOs for 12 h with the fumigant exposure method. In the control, the treatment was performed by using Triton X-100 (0.02). Treated predatory mites were selected randomly, and transferred to the experimental arenas containing 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 thrips. The predators were kept in the experimental arenas for 24 h at 25 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 10% RH, and a photoperiod of 16: 8 h (L: D). Results indicated that A. swirskii exhibited a type II functional response, regardless of EOs applications. The shortest (1.62 ± 0.046 h) and the longest (1.91 ± 0.049 h) handling times, were recorded in the control and the LC₅₀ treatment of M. piperita EO, respectively. There was not a significant difference between attack rate coefficients (α) under sub-lethal concentrations. Based on the results, the two EOs have the potential to be used in F. occidentalis management, but their side effects on A. swirskii should be considered in IPM programs.

Keywords

Attack rate

botanical pesticide

handling time

integrated pest management

predatory mite