CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Planococcus ficus Signoret, the vine mealybug, is a principal pest of vineyards worldwide. The objective of this study was to evaluate the insecticidal properties of volatile compounds on P. ficus and their phytotoxicity in the grapevine. The susceptibility of P. ficus adults to 2-decanone, 3-decanone, 3-octanone, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl chloride, α-methyl cinnamaldehyde, 1-octen-3-ol and 3-octanol was evaluated using a fumigant toxicity assay. The electrolyte leakage method (electrical conductivity measurement) was used to assess the leaf tissue damage produced by volatile compounds. Cinnamaldehyde, 2-decanone, 3-decanone, and α-methylcinnamaldehyde produced the highest adult mortality (54, 60, 71 and 77%, respectively) at a dose of 300 μL/L, which was significantly different from the control group (p< 0.01, DGC). Cinnamaldehyde and cinnamyl chloride were the only non-phytotoxic compounds for grapevine leaves at the dose of 300 μL/L. We concluded that cinnamaldehyde would be an effective volatile compound for P. ficus control due to its insecticidal activity and low phytotoxicity. This work contributes to the search of potential novel active compounds for organic control of mealybugs in vineyards.