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Lippia spp. Essential Oil as a Control Agent against Acanthoscelides obtectus, an Insect Pest in Phaseolus vulgaris Beans
* 1 , 2 , 3 , 1
1  Escuela de Ingeniería Agraria y Forestal. Universidad de León
2  Universidad Federal de Reconcavo de Bahia. Brazil
3  Escuela de Ingeniería Agraria y Forestal (Campus de Ponferrada). Universidad de León.

Abstract:

Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), know as the bean weevil, causes severe post-harvest losses in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The control of this insect pest is still poor and involves the use of conventional insecticides. Besides, there is an increasing demand in the search for new active substances and natural plant products for pest control towards the reduction of adverse effects on human health and the environment. Under laboratory conditions, four doses (12, 24, 60 and 120 µL) of Lippia origanoides and Lippia alba essential oils were evaluated on Petri dishes against A. obtectus insects during 15 days. L. origanoides and L. alba oils exhibited similar patterns of insecticidal activity over the insect. L. origanoides and L. alba accumulated an insect mortality of 85.00 and 81.94% at dose 120 µL, respectively, significantly greater than the lower applied doses of each essential oil. However, all the lower doses applied of each oil produced significantly higher effects than the control treatment, with an accumulated mortality of 16.25%. These essential oils affected the survival of A. obtectus since the greatest doses applied on insects decreased the life span of the bean weevil. The results prove the insecticidal capacity of the essential oils of Lippia spp. genus and hence their potential as active substances against A. obtectus in environmentally low-risk pest control strategies. Supplementary trials should be conducted under real storage conditions.

Keywords: Essential oils; stored bean pest; Lippia alba; Lippia origanoides; Insecticidal activity
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