Essential Oils of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants as Botanical Biocide for Management of Coconut Eriophyid Mite (Aceria guerreronisKeifer)

Susmita Patnaik,Partha Sarathi Mukherjee,Kadambini Rout,Satyabrata Sahoo,Sasmita Pal,Prasanna Kumar Panda

doi:10.1155/2011/710929

Susmita Patnaik, Partha Sarathi Mukherjee + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/710929

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Abstract

The present study investigated the efficiency of essential oils extracted from different aromatic and medicinal plant sources onAceria guerreronisKeifer, one of the serious pests of coconut. The essential oils and the herbal extracts were prepared in two different formulations and were used both in laboratory and field conditions to assess the efficiency of the formulations against the coconut mite infestation. The field trial results showed that reduction in infestation intensity was found to vary between 73.44% and 44.50% at six different locations of trial farms with an average of 64.18% after four spells of treatment. The average number of live mites was higher in the third month old nuts both in the control as well as the treated nut samples. The laboratory experiments on the efficacy of botanical biocide showed that the time taken for dehydration and shriveling of body cells took only sixty seconds. The multilocational field trials revealed the overall efficiency of the biocide to significantly control the eriophyid mite in coconut crop in an ecofriendly and sustainable manner without adopting any chemical pesticide.

Highlights

The eriophyid mite (Aceria guerreronis Keifer) is a microscopic organism that remains under the perianth of the coconut and has been one of the serious pest of coconut for the last three decades in major coconut growing countries [1,2,3,4]
The efficacy of the botanical biocide was based on the infestation intensity of A. guererronis from different farms
Essential oils of Hyptis suaveolens, Ocimum santum, Cymbopogon winterianus, Pogostemon cablin and Citrus limon, and botanical biocide formulation were placed in direct contact with eriophyid mite (A. guererronis)

Summary

Introduction

The eriophyid mite (Aceria guerreronis Keifer) is a microscopic organism that remains under the perianth of the coconut and has been one of the serious pest of coconut for the last three decades in major coconut growing countries [1,2,3,4]. These tiny mites aggregate in colonies in the inner and outer bracts and under the tepals and feed on the meristematic tissues on the nut surface. The present study has been aimed to use these natural derivatives as an alternative ecofriendly means to control the eriophyid mites (A. guererronis Keifer), one of the serious pest of coconut

Materials and Methods

Results and Discussion

Conclusion