Chemical Composition and Insecticidal Properties of Several Plant Essential Oils on the Melon Aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

AbstractThe melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover is one of the most damaging aphids in greenhouse and field. In this research, essential oils of three medicinal plants Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn., Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Ferula assa-foetida L. were investigated for their fumigant toxicity and repellent activity against 2-days old nymphs of A. gossypii under laboratory conditions. LC50 values of essential oils of F. assafoetida, R. officinalis and E. camaldulensis were estimated 9.04, 43.00 and 24.27 μL/L air after 12 h and 4.64, 19.28 and 21.02 μL/L air after 24 h, respectively. Furthermore, repellent activity was observed for all essential oils against adult A. gossypii at a concentration of (10 μL/ml). The composition of the essential oil was analysed by (GC-MS). The main component were (E)-1-propenyl sec-butyl disulfide (57.8 %) in F. assa-foetida, 1,8-cineole (38.2 %) in E. camaldulensis and (24.6 %) in R. officinalis.