Abstract
Searching for pesticidal activity of plant extracts with some known medicinal attributes could lead to thediscovery of new agents for pest control. The essential oil (EO) was extracted from aerial parts of Rosmarinus officinalis by hydrodistillation method and tested for its toxicity against adult females of two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) and its predatory mite Phytoseuilus persimilis Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) under laboratory conditions. Exposure periods were 24, 48, and 72 h. The results indicated that adults of T. urticae were more susceptible to EO( LC50 ranged from 10.70 to 17.30 ml/L) than P. persimilis (LC50 ranged from 28.05 to 42.09 ml/L). Laboratory bioassay results indicated that the EO caused high mortality of spider mites with high fumigant and repellent activities. EO with the highest used concentration (10%) caused no phytotoxicity to some host plants of T. urticae (greenhouse-grown cotton, bean, tomato and cucumber). The chemical composition of hydrodistilled essential oil of R. officinalis was identified through GC/MS. The main constituents of the oil were 1,8-cineole (39.74%), camphor (22.76%), cis-ocimene (8.89%) and camphene (7.01%) which may provide the acaricidal properties against T. urticae. Results of the present study suggested that Rosmarinus officinalis entiaessl oil could be useful in promoting new agents for mite control from the medicinal plants.
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