Acaricidal Activity and Potential Application of Atropa belladonna

The growing resistance of <i>Tetranychus urticae</i> to chemical pesticides highlights the need for alternative solutions for its sustainable control. To develop botanical acaricides and reduce the usage of chemical pesticides, this study assessed the acaricidal activity of AB extract and its combinations with four commercial insecticides: imidacloprid (IMI), acetamiprid (ACE), thiamethoxam (TMX), and bifenthrin (BF). Results showed that the AB extract suppressed detoxification enzymes and downregulated their corresponding genes in <i>T. urticae</i>. Bioassays identified hyoscyamine and genistein as key bioactive compounds. Field trials revealed that treatments with AB + IMI, AB + TMX, and AB + BF significantly enhanced the corrected efficacy against <i>T. urticae</i> compared with AB treatment, with the highest corrected efficacy observed for AB + BF. Notably, the AB + BF treatment did not influence the stability of the natural enemy community, as indicated by the characteristic indices of the natural enemy community, which suggests that the integration of AB extract with BF may represent a sustainable pest management strategy. Therefore, the AB extract represents an environmentally benign alternative to chemical pesticides for the sustainable control of <i>T. urticae</i>.