Study of the repellent and lethal effect of essential oils derived from Heracleum persicum and Trachyspermum ammi against Panonychus ulmi (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran

2 Department of Plant Protection, Agricultural Jihad Organization of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran

3 Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Iran

Abstract
The European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Acari: Tetranychidae), is one of the main pests of apple trees worldwide. The main purpose of this research was to study the repellent and lethal effects of Heracleum persicum and Trachyspermum ammi (Apiaceae) essential oils (EOs) on the European red mite. The EOS of H. persicum and T. ammi were extracted using a Clevenger device and by the water distillation method. The mortality of the mites was evaluated after 24 hours, and the lethality of each EO was calculated for contact toxicity and fumigant toxicity in an incubator at 26 ± 2 °C, 16:8 h L:D, and 50 ± 5% RH. It was found that the LC50 values of EOs of H. persicum and T. ammi were 343.91 and 311.74 µL l−1 for contact toxicity, and 2.54 and 2.85 µL l−1 air for fumigant toxicity, respectively. With increasing the concentration of EOS, the death rate of mites increased. Three different concentrations of the EOs from H. persicum and T. ammi were tested for their repellent effects on the European red mite. Results of the present study revealed that the repellency rate increased with increasing concentration; meanwhile, the T. ammi EO had the highest repellency among the concentrations. Despite the growing interest in plant-based pest control, the specific acaricidal and repellent potential of these EOs against P. ulmi remains under-explored, particularly regarding their efficacy in integrated pest management systems. These findings suggest that H. persicum and T. ammi EOS represent promising, eco-friendly botanical alternatives for the management of the European red mite in apple orchards.

Keywords


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