Chemical Composition and Evaluation of the Acaricidal Activity of Two Essential Oils and Their Formulations against the Two-spotted Spider Mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae)

The synthetic acaricides were used to control two-spotted spider mite. The using increase of biocide cause problems such as environmental pollution and pesticide resistance, these needs increasing the sustainable, environmentally-friendly control methods. The essential oils' biodegradable with acaricidal properties referring as green pesticides. The study was aimed to determine the chemical composition and acaricidal activity of two essential oils extracted by hydro-distillation of the Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), Caraway seeds (Carum Carvi L.) and their formulations which were prepared as emulsifiable concentrates (ECs) against the two-spotted spider mite as a model under laboratory conditions. These ECs Physico-chemical properties were studied. The percentages of the main components of the extracted essential oils were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) which were: Estragole (30.17%), Methyl eugenol (13.81%) and Linalool (12.66%) for basil and Carvone (66.72%), D-limonene (31.46%) for caraway as the main compounds. The result of the present study show that formulated tested essential oils has high toxicity on T. urticae than non-formulated tested essential oils. Also, the results of the acaricidal activity showed that the formulated essential oil from basil has a highly toxic effect against T. urticae with LC50 of 2259.162 ppm than caraway with LC50 of 8283.269 ppm. Our findings revealed that the formulated essential oils can be used as alternatives to chemical pesticides for controlling this pest.