Attraction of leaf hopper, Amrasca biguttulla biguttulla, and whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, toward natural essential oils in cotton

What is it about?

Leaf hopper, Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida) and whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) are the most economical sucking pests of cotton (Gossypium sp.). The management of these pests are primarily based on application of synthetic pesticides, causing environmental damage and resistance to insecticide molecules. We aimed to study the attraction of A. biguttula and B. tabaci towards six natural essentials oils (NEO’s) viz., sandalwood, basil, grapefruit, rose, clove and mint oils using yellow sticky traps under field conditions. The results showed that, traps treated with sandalwood and basil oils found to attract significant number of A. biguttula and B. tabaci as compared to others during 2016-17 and 2017-18. Further, the Attractive Index (AI) of sandalwood and basil oils to these pests were significantly higher (i.e., < 1). In addition, the traps treated with sandalwood and basil oil caught relatively lower number of natural enemies. The GC-MS analysis specified the presence of vital attractive volatile compounds viz., santalene, funebrene and pentadecane in sandalwood; whereas, linalool, β-farnesene, caryophyllene and methyl eugenol in basil oil. Based on obtained results it can be concluded that application of sandalwood and basil oil increased the effectiveness of sticky trap for management of A. biguttula and B. tabaci in cotton.

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