Efficacy of Dayabon, a botanical pesticide, on different life stages of Myzus persicae and its biological control agent, Aphidius matricariae

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is one of the most important pests in greenhouses and its damages are economically important. The overuse of chemical pesticides has caused resistance in green peach aphid to many common insecticides. Aphidius matricariae (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is an effective biological control agent against aphid populations especially in greenhouse crops. Currently, use of safe and biocompatible botanical pesticides in combination with biological control agents is being recommended. In this study, contact toxicity of Dayabon (SL 10%), a new botanical pesticide, was investigated on different life stages of M. persicae at 1000 to 7000ppm. Also, the toxicity was studied on mummies and adult parasitoids at 2000 to 14000ppm. The estimated LC50 on first, second, third, fourth instar nymphs and adults were 3254, 3387, 4194, 3839 and 3508ppm, respectively. However, concentrations up to 5000ppm caused less than 50% mortality in parasitoid mummies. Moreover, the residues of Dayabon did not cause any mortality in A. matricariae adults. Based on the standard method of IOBC/WPRS Working Group for side-effects of pesticides on natural enemies of insects, the Dayabon is recognized as safe for A. matricariae while it has acceptable mortality on green peach aphid. Therefore, the integration of Dayabon with A. matricariae could be recommended in order to achieve better control of M. persicae in greenhouse products.