Essential Oil ofRosmarinus officinalisEcotypes and Their Major Compounds: Insecticidal and Histological Assessment AgainstDrosophila suzukiiand Their Impact on a Nontarget Parasitoid

Abstract

Essential oils (EOs) produced by plants in the Lamiaceae family may provide new insecticidal molecules. Novel control compounds are needed to control Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), a severe economic invasive pest of thin-skinned fruit crops. Thus, we characterized the main compounds of EOs from three rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis ecotypes (ECOs) and evaluated their toxicity to D. suzukii adults, deterrence of oviposition behavior, and histological alterations in larvae. Additionally, we analyzed the lethal and sublethal effect on the pupal parasitoid Trichopria anastrephae. The main compounds identified in the R. officinalis ECOs were α-pinene, camphor and 1,8-cineole. In bioassays via topical application or ingestion, ECOs and their major compounds showed high toxicity on D. suzukii adults and a lower concentration could kill 50% and 90% of flies compared to spinetoram. The dry residues of a-pinene, 1,8-cineole, and camphor provided a repellent effect by reducing D. suzukii oviposition by ~47% compared to untreated fruit. Histological sections of 3rd instar larval D. suzukii posttreatment revealed damage to the fat body, Malpighian tubules, brain, salivary gland, and midgut, which contributed to high larval and pupal mortality. Survival and parasitism by adult T. anastrephae were not affected. Thus, R. officinalis EO and their compounds have potential for developing novel insecticides to manage D. suzukii.

Encapsulation of Bioactive Compounds for Food and Agricultural Applications

“…Some essential oils have the potential to be applied in agriculture as biopesticides. Rosemary oil has the potential to be used as an insecticide [ 179 , 180 , 181 ]. It has been encapsulated by spouted bed drying using a mixture of Tixosil and maltodextrin as drying carriers and Teflon beads for drying [ 182 ] and with microcrystalline cellulose cores [ 183 ].…”

Rosemary: Unrevealing an old aromatic crop as a new source of promising functional food additive—A review

“…The non‐volatile components of rosemary mainly contain bioactive compounds such as carnosic acid (CA), carnosol, and rosmarinic acid, which show nutritionally beneficial bioactivities including antibacterial, antioxidant, and hypoglycemic activities (Farhadi et al., 2023; Ivanov et al., 2022). Attributed to its remarkable biological properties, rosemary extracts have been widely used in pesticides, cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, detergents, softeners, and deodorants in the industrial communities (Fiume et al., 2018; Trombin de Souza et al., 2021). In modern society, natural products are believed to be beneficial to health and relatively safe and they can avoid side effects unlike their chemosynthetic counterparts.…”

Erythritol sprays reduce Drosophila suzukii infestation without impacting honey bee visitation nor fruit quality

“…The imported parasitoid Ganaspis brasiliensis was released in the US in 2022; outcomes of impact still pending. Safer compounds that growers can conveniently incorporate into current spray practices are of interest, including crop sterilants that are commercially available, 9 fruit protectants, 10 and less toxic contact insecticides such as essential oils, 11 apple volatile, 12 and M. didyma hydrolate, 13 where applications are currently in development.…”