Insecticidal Potential of Citrus aurantium, Pimpinella anisum, and Cinnamomum verum Essential Oils against the Citrus Aphid Myzus persicae: A Comparative Study

In recent years, using essential oils as bio-insecticides has become a more widespread approach, responding directly to the growing demand for integrated pest management solutions. In this study we tested the insecticidal effect of three plant essential oils (Citrus aurantium L., Pimpinella anisum and Cinnamomum verum) against the aphid Myzus persicae. The oils were extracted using the Clevenger hydrodistillation method. Three concentrations C1(1%), C2(2%) and C3(3%) were tested, and aphid mortality for each essential oil was monitored at 24, 48 and 72 h post-treatment. The results indicated that these essential oils exhibit significant insecticidal activity compared to the control. Citrus aurantium essential oil showed the highest efficacy, with mortality rates reaching 43%, 70 % and 80% at 24 h for the C1, C2 and C3 respectively. At 72 h, mortality reached 85% for both C2 and C3 concentrations. The lethal doses (LD) of Citrus aurantium at 24 h were 0.69%, 1.07% and 1.67% for LD-50, LD-70 and LD-90 respectively. Furthermore, the C1concentration of Pimpinella anisum essential oil showed significant activity, resulting in 85 % mortality against Myzus persicae at 72 h with an LD90 of 1.55%. The results suggest that Citrus aurantium and Cinnamomum verum essential oils hold promise as natural biopesticides, particularly when used at optimized concentrations for controlling Myzus persicae adults.