فعالية الزيوت الطيارة لقشور نوعين من فواكه الحمضيات على حلم العنكبوت (Tetranychus urticae Koch)‎ (Acari : Tetraychnidae)‎ و الحلم المفترس (Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henroit)‎ (Acari : Phytoseiidae)‎

Abstract EN

Two essential oils were extracted from the peel of sweet orange Citrus sinensis and bitter orange Citrus aurantium.

The objective of this study is to assess their toxicity by direct contact under laboratory conditions, on adult individuals of the two-spot spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetraychnidae) and the predatory spider Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henroit (Acari: Phytoseiidae) which is one of the most important natural enemies of this pest.

The residual activity of these essential oils has also been tested at five increasing concentrations: 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4% and 8%.

The concentration of 8%, toxicity tests showed good efficacy of the tested essential oils, as the mortality rate for T.

urticae was estimated at 63.33% and 68.74% for sweet orange and bitter orange respectively.

In contrast, these oils at the same concentration were found less toxic on adults of P.

persimilis, with mortality rates of 25% and 13.88% for these oils, respectively.

The residual activity of these oils also decays over time.

We conclude from this study that the tested essential oils may represent a promising alternative to pesticides manufactured within environmentally friendly biological control programs.