Anti-oviposition and repellence activities of essential oils and aqueous extracts from five aromatic plants against greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae)

K. Ahmadi, M. Dehghani

Abstract: The present study assessed the repellence and anti-oviposition activities of essential oils and aqueous extracts isolated from five aromatic plants against T. vaporariorum. Cucumber plants were treated with essential oils or aqueous extracts (40μL/ mL), with control plants sprayed with distilled water. Approximately 250 greenhouse whitefly adults were released in to cage. To evaluate repellent and anti-oviposition effect, 3 and 6 days after infestation, the number of eggs and adults per leaf were recorded. The highest anti-oviposition effect at 3 days after infestation occurred with essential oil of Achillea millefolium L. treatment. The greatest repellence effect 3 and 6 days after infestation occurred with water extracts of Cuminum cyminum L. and Thymus vulgaris L. treatment, respectively. The essential oil and aqueous extract from orange fruit peelings (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck)) treatments produced the least repellence and antioviposition effects. These results indicate a potential use of essential oils and aqueous plant extracts in pest management of greenhouse whiteflies.

Keywords: Botanical insecticides; cumin; fennel; navel orange; plant extracts; thyme; Trialeurodes vaporariorum; yarrow

Date published: 2019-02-20