Efficacy of different concentrations of flax plant oil Linum usitatissimum in controlling green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Abstract

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, is a significant insect pest worldwide. The potential for using Linum usitatissimum flax seed oil to control insects has been reported. However, no study has been conducted on the efficacy of flax seed oil against M. persicae. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the bioactivity of Linum usitatissimum flax seed oil at four concentrations (1.00, 3.00, 5.00, and 10.0 ml / 100 ml water). The highest mortality of adults (100%) was caused 4 days post-treatment with all tested concentrations. Similarly, the results demonstrate that foliar application of flax seed oil against all nymphal stages caused 100% mortality rates at all concentrations after 4 days of treatment. The rate of nymph production of aphids significantly decreased and reached 0.0 nymph per adult after 4 days. The results suggest that flax seed oil has the potential as a biological control agent of M. persicae. Keywords: botanicals, essential oil, insects, biological control