Essential oils of Origanum Species from Turkey: Repellent Activity Against Stored Product Insect Pests

Abstract

Studies on the production of plant-based pest control strategies have been growing in recent years. Origanum (Lamiaceae) species are important medicinal aromatic plants and many studies have been conducted on their biological activities. This study was conducted to determine the repellent effects of plant essential oils extracted from four different Origanum species: O. onites, O. vulgare var. hirtum, O. vulgare var. verticium and O. onites × O. vulgare, against four different stored product pests: Rhyzopertha dominica (F., 1792) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), Tribolium confusum Jacquelin Du Val, 1863 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), Sitophilus granarius (Linnaeus, 1875) and Sitophilus oryzae (Linnaeus, 1763) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), under laboratory conditions. The neo-clavenger apparatus was used to obtain essential oils. As a result of the experiment, O. onites essential oil showed the highest activity at a dose of 0.25 μl cm-2 with 68% on T. confusum after 2 hours. This oil showed the highest activity on S. oryzae with 90% at the lowest application dose of 0.025 μl cm-2. When the results are evaluated generally, the highest activity was found in O. onites essential oil. Other essential oils have varying degrees of activity depending on time and dose. Results of the experiment show that Origanum oils have a significant potential to controlling this pest.