Essential oil compounds for thrips control - A review

Abstract

This review covers aspects of putting essential oil compounds to use either as allelochemicals that manipulate the host selection process of Thysanopteran pest species or as botanical insecticides that kill these pests. Thysanoptera (thrips) make an especially interesting case study in this field, because their increasing economic impact puts some urgency on the development of novel control strategies, especially strategies that incorporate natural compounds. Known facts about the host selection behaviour of thrips are briefly summarized, and methods for the evaluation of thrips responses to volatile and non-volatile plant compounds are outlined. Recent results on the search for attractive and repellent volatiles and for feeding and/or oviposition deterrent essential oil compounds are listed in detail and their potential for use in control strategies against thrips pests is discussed. An overview of plant essential oils used either for insecticidal spraying treatments of crops or for fumigation of crops in greenhouses or fumigation chambers completes the picture of bioactivities. Finally, an outlook on the perspectives for future control strategies against thrips pests is given, including thoughts on the direction of further research needed to fully evaluate the thrips control potential of plant essential oils.