A survey of the repellency and anti oviposition effects of two plant species of essential oils on Tetranychus turkestani and its predator Orius albidipennis

The spider mite, Tetranychus turkestani is one of the main pests of cucurbit plants in southern provinces such as Khuzestan. Due to the undesirable effects of using pesticides, this research was performed in order to introduce safe alternative components for the environment. In this study, repellency and anti oviposition effects of Foeniculum vulgare and Citrus lemon essential oils was investigated on mentioned mite females and its predator Orius albidipennis. 2000 ppm of each on essential oil was applied as contact. The most anti ovipositon effect by a mite and its predator was observed on the first day after treatment. The Mean scores of the eggs laid by mite on C. limon and F. vulgare treatment were 0.3±0.48 and 0.5±0.48, respectively. The mean of the lowest oviposition of its predator for mentioned treatments was 1±0.52 and 1.3±0.52, respectively. By passing time and decreasing the essential oils effect, the number of laid eggs increased slowly. According to the repellency index, the essential oil of lemon had more repellency for mite compared to the essential oil of fennel. Whereas. the essential oil of fennel had less repellency for its predator. Therefore, it seems that the essential oil of fennel is a safer component for use in IPM.