<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The purpose of this study is to assess the repellent activity of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil (EO), grown in Serbia under greenhouse conditions, against four prevalent stored product pests: Plodia interpunctella (larvae), Sitophilus oryzae, Acanthoscelides obtectus and Tribolium castaneum (adults). The lemongrass EO repellency was tested using filter paper in Petri dishes and a Y-tube olfactometer. According to the repellency index (RI), the lemongrass EO repellency was divided into 5 classes. Prior to biotesting, the chemical characterization of lemongrass EO was performed and the following main compounds were detected: myrcene (31.0%), geranial (30.0%), and neral (23.6%). The C. citratus EO considered was found to exhibit the Class III repellent activity against P. interpunctella larvae only at the highest concentration (namely 0.5%). This is the very first report on the C. citratus EO repellent activity against this pest. The lemongrass EO examined showed strong repellency (Class IV) against S. oryzae (0.2% and 0.5% of EO), A. obtectus (0.1% and 0.2%), and T. castaneum (0.05-0.1%). Moreover, higher lemongrass EO concentrations (0.5%) were found to exhibit extreme repellency (Class V) against A. obtectus and T. castaneum. The results obtained were confirmed in the bioassays performed, indicating the great potential of lemongrass EO as a bio-repellent when applied in higher concentrations to all the insects considered, regardless of the exposure period.</p>
</abstract>

The purpose of this study is to assess the repellent activity of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil (EO), grown in Serbia under greenhouse conditions, against four prevalent stored product pests: Plodia interpunctella (larvae), Sitophilus oryzae, Acanthoscelides obtectus and Tribolium castaneum (adults). The lemongrass EO repellency was tested using filter paper in Petri dishes and a Y-tube olfactometer. According to the repellency index (RI), the lemongrass EO repellency was divided into 5 classes. Prior to biotesting, the chemical characterization of lemongrass EO was performed and the following main compounds were detected: myrcene (31.0%), geranial (30.0%), and neral (23.6%). The C. citratus EO considered was found to exhibit the Class III repellent activity against P. interpunctella larvae only at the highest concentration (namely 0.5%). This is the very first report on the C. citratus EO repellent activity against this pest. The lemongrass EO examined showed strong repellency (Class IV) against S. oryzae (0.2% and 0.5% of EO), A. obtectus (0.1% and 0.2%), and T. castaneum (0.05-0.1%). Moreover, higher lemongrass EO concentrations (0.5%) were found to exhibit extreme repellency (Class V) against A. obtectus and T. castaneum. The results obtained were confirmed in the bioassays performed, indicating the great potential of lemongrass EO as a bio-repellent when applied in higher concentrations to all the insects considered, regardless of the exposure period.

Repellent Activity of <italic>Cymbopogon citratus</italic> Essential Oil Against Four Major Stored Product Pests: <italic>Plodia interpunctella, Sitophilus oryzae, Acanthoscelides obtectus and Tribolium castaneum</italic>

Contemporary Agriculture

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Repellent Activity of  Essential Oil Against Four Major Stored Product Pests: 

The purpose of this study is to assess the repellent activity of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil (EO), grown in Serbia under greenhouse...

Repellent Activity of Cymbopogon citratus Essential Oil Against Four Major Stored Product Pests: Plodia interpunctella, Sitophilus oryzae, Acanthoscelides obtectus and Tribolium castaneum

Published Online: Nov 20, 2021

Page range: 140 - 148

Received: May 14, 2021

Accepted: May 20, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0020

Keywords
essential oil, lemongrass, biological activity, repellency, storage pests

© 2021 Sonja Gvozdenac et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Repellent Activity of Cymbopogon citratus Essential Oil Against Four Major Stored Product Pests: Plodia interpunctella, Sitophilus oryzae, Acanthoscelides obtectus and Tribolium castaneum

Published Online: Nov 20, 2021

Page range: 140 - 148

Received: May 14, 2021

Accepted: May 20, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/contagri-2021-0020

Keywordsessential oil, lemongrass, biological activity, repellency, storage pests

© 2021 Sonja Gvozdenac et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
essential oil, lemongrass, biological activity, repellency, storage pests