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Biological Activity of Litsea cubeba Essential Oil and Citral against the Two-Spotted Spider Mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acarina, Tetranychidae)

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Abstract

The biological activity of Litsea cubeba essential oil and its main component citral was studied to evaluate their potential for biological protection of greenhouse crops. Testing was carried out on a laboratory population of the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch maintained on bean plants. The toxic effect after contact-intestinal action and after fumigation, and the repellent effect on the mite females and their offspring were evaluated. Using L. cubeba oil and citral at a concentration of 0.25% led to a significant decrease in the mite reproduction index, by 2.8 and 2.5 times, respectively. The activity of essential oil applied by fumigation at dosages of 7.5 and 6.0 µL/L of air was close to 100%. At a lower dosage of 4.5 µL/L, the mite mortality exceeded 50%, and the number of eggs was reduced by 84.5% as compared with the control. The negative effect on mite fecundity remained above 60% at 3.75 µL/L. Application of citral at a dosage of 3.0 µL/L resulted in mite mortality above 80%, while the number of eggs per female decreased by more than 90%. The females almost completely avoided the leaves treated with 0.25% solutions of the studied substances, and the number of eggs decreased by more than 90% due to the repellent effect. The use of citral at concentrations of 0.125 and 0.06% also prevented the colonization of leaves by mites, and citral at a concentration of 0.045% reduced the number of eggs by 3.1 times. Thus, L. cubeba essential oil and citral are promising natural acaricides that can be used in different ways.

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  1. All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection, Pushkin, 196608, St. Petersburg, Russia

    E. A. Stepanycheva, M. O. Petrova & T. D. Chermenskaya

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  1. E. A. Stepanycheva
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  2. M. O. Petrova
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  3. T. D. Chermenskaya
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Correspondence to E. A. Stepanycheva.

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Statement on the welfare of animals. All the applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All the procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted.

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Stepanycheva, E.A., Petrova, M.O. & Chermenskaya, T.D. Biological Activity of Litsea cubeba Essential Oil and Citral against the Two-Spotted Spider Mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acarina, Tetranychidae). Entmol. Rev. 103, 152–158 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0013873823020045

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