Insecticidal activity of Varronia curassavica (Boraginaceae) essential oil against the coffee berry borer

Varronia curassavica is a medicinal species native to Brazil and produces an essential oil with a range of biological activities. Essential oils have been studied worldwide as an environmentally safer alternative to biopesticides for pest control, due to several issues for the environment and humans related to these products. The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) is considered the leading pest of coffee crops worldwide, reducing the quality and the economic value of the coffee grains, and its principal method of control is by the use of synthetic pesticides. This work aimed to evaluate the mortality activity of V. curassavica essential oil on H. hampei. In the test, we used five treatments (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0% essential oil concentration) and the control (distilled water and Tween​ 80 (0.05%)). We applied the tested solutions in a filter paper disk placed in a Petri dish and left to dry at room temperature for five minutes. Afterward, we released five H. hampei females in the Petri dish and kept them there for two days, and then the number of dead insects was counted. All essential oil concentrations tested present mortality activity and mortality rates increased with increasing concentrations, reaching 100% mortality at the highest concentration. Therefore, V. curassavica essential oil could be a potential natural insecticide for H. hampei control.

Funding FAPEMIG, CNPq and CAPES for financial support

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023