Mealybugs are worldwide pests in vineyards due to direct damage and spread of grapevine leafroll disease. The objective of this study was to find natural products valuable as alternatives to synthetic insecticides for their control. Laboratory experiments and field trials were conducted in New Zealand in 2015–16 on Pseudococcus calceolariae (Maskell) and Pseudococcus longispinus (Targioni Tozzetti), and in Italy in 2016–17 on Planococcus ficus (Signoret) to assess the insecticidal activity of kaolin and citrus essential oil. Although kaolin increased Ps. calceolariae mortality in the laboratory, it was ineffective at controlling the three mealybug species in the vineyards. In contrast, citrus essential oil increased mortality of Ps. calceolariae and Pl. ficus in the laboratory and reduced leaf infestations of the latter in the vineyards. Citrus essential oil could be a good alternative to synthetic insecticides against vineyard mealybugs.

Insecticidal activity of natural products against vineyard mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Tacoli, Federico;Cargnus, Elena;Pavan, Francesco
2018-01-01

Abstract

Mealybugs are worldwide pests in vineyards due to direct damage and spread of grapevine leafroll disease. The objective of this study was to find natural products valuable as alternatives to synthetic insecticides for their control. Laboratory experiments and field trials were conducted in New Zealand in 2015–16 on Pseudococcus calceolariae (Maskell) and Pseudococcus longispinus (Targioni Tozzetti), and in Italy in 2016–17 on Planococcus ficus (Signoret) to assess the insecticidal activity of kaolin and citrus essential oil. Although kaolin increased Ps. calceolariae mortality in the laboratory, it was ineffective at controlling the three mealybug species in the vineyards. In contrast, citrus essential oil increased mortality of Ps. calceolariae and Pl. ficus in the laboratory and reduced leaf infestations of the latter in the vineyards. Citrus essential oil could be a good alternative to synthetic insecticides against vineyard mealybugs.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
156.CropProt orange oils.pdf

non disponibili

Descrizione: Articolo principale
Tipologia: Versione Editoriale (PDF)
Licenza: Non pubblico
Dimensione 541.2 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
541.2 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11390/1144834
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 21
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 19
social impact