Attraction behaviour of Anagrus nilaparvatae to remote lemongrass (Cymbopogon distans) oil and its volatile compounds.

ABSTRACT

Utilisation of Anagrus nilaparvatae is a promising and effective method for planthoppers manipulation. Twenty-seven components of remote lemongrass (Cymbopogon distans) oil were identified by GC/MS and nine volatiles were selected for behavioural experiments. In this study, we noted that the remote lemongrass oil was attractive to female A. nilaparvatae at concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mg/L. α-Pinene, ß-pinene, eucalyptol, carveol and D-carvone attracted female wasps in the dose-dependent bioassays. Blend 1 (a mixture of eucalyptol, D-carvone, carveol, α-pinene, and ß-pinene with ratios of remote lemongrass oil volatiles of 625801153) attracted female wasps at 10 mg/L, while blend 2 (a mixture of the same five volatiles at the same loading ratio) attracted them at 0.1 and 1 mg/L. These results suggested that plant essential oils could be attractants for natural enemies to control pests. The ratios of volatiles in the mixtures affect the attractiveness of the synthetic mixtures.