Efficacy of volatile compounds for organic vine mealybug control

PESCHIUTTA, M.L.; BRITO, V.D.; ORDANO, M.; ZYGADLO, J.A.

VITIS

JKI-INSTITUT REBENZUCHTUNG

Año: 2019 vol. 58 p. 1 - 6

0042-7500

Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) constitutes a high impact pest in vineyards.Synthetic insecticides are inefficient to control themealybug population and they affect human health andthe environment. The insecticidal properties of eightvolatile compounds against vine mealybugs and theirgrapevine leaf phytotoxicity in laboratory conditionswere evaluated. 2-decanone, 3-decanone, α-methyl cinnamaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde produced a higherpercentage of mealybug mortality in relation to controlat a fumigant dose of 300 µL·L-1 air. The 3-octanone,cinnamyl chloride, 1-octen-3-ol and 3-octanol were noteffective against P. ficus. Cinnamaldehyde and α-methyl cinnamaldehyde produced a low acetylcholinesterase inhibition (IC50= 2.67 µL·L-1 and 9.10 µL·L-1,respectively), whereas 2-decanone and 3-decanone didnot cause enzyme inhibition. Cinnamaldehyde was notphytotoxic for grapevine leaves; therefore, this compound was selected for a contact application to improveits effectiveness, resulting in a LC50 of 394.36 µL·L-1solution. The results demonstrated the potential ofcinnamaldehyde to be developed as a non-phytotoxicnatural insecticide for the control of vine mealybugs invineyards.