Insecticidal activity against Bemisia tabaci biotype B of peel essential oil of Citrus sinensis var. pear and Citrus aurantium cultivated in northeast Brazil.

ABSTRACT

The fumigant action of peel essential oils of Citrus sinensis var. pear (pear orange = PO) and C. aurantium (bitter orange = BO) from the northeast of Brazil were evaluated against Bemisia tabaci biotype B and compared with eugenol as a positive control. The oil concentration in the PO at 8.5 microL/L of air caused 97% mortality, while the oil concentration of BO at 9.5 microL/L of air caused 99% mortality. However, the LC50 estimates for both oils (LC50 = 3.80 microL/L of air for PO and LC50 = 5.80 microL/L of air for BO) did not differ from each other, but they did when compared with eugenol (LC50 = 0.20 microL/L of air). Regarding their effects on oviposition, the Citrus oils showed concentration-response dependence, reducing the number of eggs as the concentration increased, which was not observed for eugenol. The minimum concentrations of the oils that caused a significant reduction in the egg lay were 3.5 and 7.0 microL/L of air for BO and PO, respectively. These results suggest that oils from PO and BO peels may be promising as models to develop new insecticides that might be applied into the integrated management of whiteflies.