Plant odours with potential for a push–pull strategy to control the onion thrips, Thrips tabaci

Abstract

We compared the efficacy of four plant essential oils to repel onion thrips, Thrips tabaci (Lindeman) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in the presence of an attractive odour, ethyl iso -nicotinate in a pasture field. Four horizontal white sticky plates were placed adjacent to (directions: N, S, E, W) a central horizontal white plate (C). After 24 h, in the treatment combination where the four plates were sprayed with essential oil surrounding a central sticky plate sprayed with ethyl iso -nicotinate, fewer onion thrips were found on the plates treated with sweet marjoram [ Origanum majorana L. (Labiatae)] or clove basil [ Ocimum gratissimum L. (Labiatae)] (87 and 71% less, respectively) compared to the control treatment of four water-sprayed plates surrounding a central plate with ethyl iso -nicotinate. We also compared the distribution of onion thrips on the plates. Relative thrips numbers on each plate were compared with similar (N, S, E, W, and C) plates in the control treatment. There were relatively lower thrips numbers on the south (23% reduction) and west (26% reduction) O. majorana -treated plates and higher numbers (37% increase) on the central attractant-treated plate indicating a shortdistance push-pull effect. When four plates were sprayed with the thrips attractant surrounding a central sticky plate sprayed with an essential oil or water (control), only O. majorana reduced the number of thrips on the attractant-sprayed plates (62% reduction). The distribution of thrips on the different plates within this treatment combination did not change substantially when compared to the distribution in the water-control treatment. Other essential oils tested (wormwood [ Artemisia arborescens L. (Compositae)]) and tea tree [ Melaleuca alternifolia (Maiden. & Betche.) Cheel. (Myrtaceae)]) were not effective in any of the treatments. It appears that O. majorana is a promising thrips repellent which could be used for further testing in a push-pull system with the attractant ethyl iso -nicotinate. The field setup used also proved to be a valuable tool for evaluating the potential of repellents to control onion thrips.

Artificially applied plant volatile organic compounds modify the behavior of a pest with no adverse effect on its natural enemies in the field

“…This strategy consists in pushing the herbivorous insect outside the crop and pulling it at the periphery of the crop where it can be controlled (Cook et al 2007). So far, researches have been developed on some crop models (Bennison et al 2001;Martel et al 2005;Meats et al 2012;Smart et al 1994;Tyler-Julian et al 2014;van Tol et al 2007;Yan et al 2015) and have been strengthened by the major applied success of this strategy: the protection of maize and sorghum against stem borers in sub-Saharan Africa (Khan et al 2000(Khan et al , 2008. Despite these encouraging results, the potential of the push-pull strategy to protect crops remains largely unexplored, especially in temperate agrosystems.…”

Non‐host plant essential oil volatiles with potential for a ‘push‐pull’ strategy to control the tea green leafhopper, Empoasca vitis

“…Recently, as a new tool in integrated pest management that was first conceived by Pyke et al (1987) and later formalized by Miller & Cowles (1990), a semiochemical-based 'pushpull' approach combined attractant and repellent volatiles to manipulate pest populations (Cook et al, 2007). With the 'push-pull' system, pest insects are repelled or deterred from crops using behavior-modifying 'push' stimuli, such as repellent NHVs (Mauchline et al, 2005;Cook et al, 2007;van Tol et al, 2007a). The essential oils of plants are an important source for these compounds (Cook et al, 2007).…”

“…Moreover, plant essential oils have no detrimental effects on beneficial insects and have low environmental persistence and mammalian toxicity (Isman, 2000(Isman, , 2006. Many essential oils repel a range of agricultural pests, including onion thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindeman) (van Tol et al, 2007a), silverleaf whiteflies [Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)] (Yang et al, 2010;Baldin et al, 2013), red bud borers [Resseliella oculiperda (R€ ubsaamen)] (van Tol et al, 2007b), pollen beetles [Meligethes aeneus (Fabricius)] (Mauchline et al, 2005), and Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica Newman) (Youssef et al, 2009). Some studies investigated the response of E. vitis to nonhost aromatic plant volatiles (Zhang et al, 2014a), but few have studied their response to essential oils extracted from aromatic plant species in the field.…”

Effect of a non‐host plant Phaseolus vulgaris on larval performance and oviposition of the oriental tobacco budworm Helicoverpa assulta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

“…; Van Tol et al . ; Zhang & Chen ). Further studies would be required to search for oviposition deterring factors and toxic compounds of P. vulgaris which could be useful for alternative pest management of H. assulta .…”