Aphicidal activity of farnesol against the green peach aphid – Myzus persicae

• Published in: Pest management science 2022-06, Vol.78 (6), p.2714-2721
• Main Authors: Cantó‐Tejero, Manuel, Guirao, Pedro, Pascual‐Villalobos, María Jesús
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Aphididae; aphids; Bioassays; botanical insecticide; capsicum annuum; Crops; Essential oils; Farnesol; Field tests; Foliar applications; Formulations; Greenhouses; Incompatibility; Insecticides; Insects; Integrated pest management; Mortality; Myzus persicae; Nanoemulsions; Natural enemies; Pest control; Pests; Plant protection
• ISSN: 1526-498X; 1526-4998
• DOI: 10.1002/ps.6902

BACKGROUND Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is considered one of most important agricultural pests in the world. It is one of the main pests in protected pepper crops under glasshouse conditions in Southeastern Spain, but its control is limited as a consequence of the few available authorized insecticides and their incompatibility with the natural enemies. Some essential oils and pure compounds such as anise (Pimpinella anisum) or farnesol are repellent and/or toxic to aphids. Their use as a botanical insecticides can be an alternative for aphid control in pepper. RESULTS The effect of farnesol was evaluated against M. persicae in a new bioassay developed to test the contact effect (aqueous formulation of the products) on aphids in laboratory conditions. Aniseed essential oil, geraniol and (Z)‐jasmone at 0.6% causes an aphid mortality of >50%; and farnesol was the most effective (93.67% mortality). Farnesol nanoemulsions between 0.2% and 0.6% were formulated with an IKA‐Labor Pilot dispersing machine (7940 rpm for 10 min) using Tween 80 as a surfactant. These formulations were tested on field experiments (glasshouse conditions) on pepper crops for 2 years. Foliar applications of farnesol at a concentration of 0.4% in field conditions causes a high reduction in aphid populations, with efficacies of ≈70–80% with respect to the control, similar to or even higher than the efficacy of the reference pyrethrin insecticide. CONCLUSION Farnesol showed a great aphicidal effect against M. persicae. The use of this molecule in integrated pest management programs combined with natural enemies is a good option for future control of M. persicae. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. Aphicidal effect of farnesol nanoemulsions against Myzus persicae in pepper crops. The insecticidal effect of farnesol was demonstrated in laboratory and field experiments for 2 years with efficacies of ≈75%.