Insecticidal and Repellent Activities of Four Essential Oils Against Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Hany Ahmed Fouad; Cláudio Augusto Gomes da Câmara; Marcílio Martins de Moraes; Wagner de Souza Tavares; Jesusa Crisostomo Legaspi; José Cola Zanuncio

doi:10.1177/15593258231210263

Insecticidal and Repellent Activities of Four Essential Oils Against Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Dose Response. 2023 Nov 20;21(4):15593258231210263. doi: 10.1177/15593258231210263. eCollection 2023 Oct-Dec.

Authors

Hany Ahmed Fouad¹, Cláudio Augusto Gomes da Câmara², Marcílio Martins de Moraes², Wagner de Souza Tavares³, Jesusa Crisostomo Legaspi⁴, José Cola Zanuncio⁵

Affiliations

¹ Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt.
² Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
³ PT. Itci Hutani Manunggal (IHM), Balikpapan, Indonesia.
⁴ Center for Biological Control, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, Tallahassee, USA.
⁵ Departamento de Entomologia/BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Corymbia citriodora, Melaleuca alternifolia (Myrtaceae), Mentha × piperita (Lamiaceae), and Schinus terebinthifolius (Anacardiaceae) essential oils as an alternative to manage Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) adults.

Methods: Acute contact toxicity, acute toxicity on treated maize grain, fumigation toxicity, repellency bioassays, and GC-MS analysis of the essential oils were carried out.

Results: Corymbia citriodora, M. alternifolia, M. × piperita, and S. terebinthifolius oils were toxic at different levels to S. zeamais through residual contact, ingestion and via fumigation, and were also repellent to adults of this pest. Melaleuca alternifolia oil was the most active in contact (LC₅₀ = 18.98 μL.mL^-1), ingestion (LC₅₀ = 1.03 μL.g^-1), and fumigant (LC₅₀ = 20.05 μL.L^-1 air) bioassays. Citronelal (53.6% in C. citriodora), terpinen-4-ol (46.9% in M. alternifolia), menthol (44.8% in M. × piperita), and β-caryophyllene (16.2% in S terebinthifolius) are the major constituents of these oils.

Conclusions: Melaleuca alternifolia and M. × piperita essential oils can be used by residual contact, while those of C. citriodora, M. alternifolia, and M. × piperita by mixing with maize grains. Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil can be used as a fumigant, while those of C. citriodora and S. terebinthifolius as repellents for S. zeamais adults.

Keywords: biological activity; essential oil; fumigation; maize weevil; repellency; stored grain.