Thyme and rosemary essential oils as an alternative control of plant-parasitic nematodes.

Since ancient times, essential oils have been used as an alternative against pests. Recently, the respect for the environment and public health has increased and has motivated the search for natural nematicides, biodegradable and with little or no toxicity. In this study, the nematicidal activity (in vitro) against parasite nematodes isolated from plants was evaluated. The essential oils evaluated were thyme and rosemary, both of them applied at three different concentrations. The nematicidal activity was evaluated during 48 hours and it was determined at different time intervals. The best results were obtained using the lowest concentration of essential oil of thyme, after 8 h of exposure, where the number of nematodes was reduced by about 90%. Rosemary essential oil showed a similar effect (70.2% mortality), but at a higher concentration. These results demonstrate that essential oils could be considered as an alternative for pest control with a promising application in agriculture.