Activity of three essential oils on the mortality of Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) in stored wheat

Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) is a stored wheat pest and its control uses indiscriminately chemical substances that causes resistance to insects, as well as environmental and health problems. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the effect of the essential oils of Melaleuca viridiflora Gaertn, Lippia palmeri Watson, and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnhardt on mortality, repellency, R. dominica emergence, and weight loss in wheat, saturating the atmosphere with different oil concentrations (0, 5, 10, and 15 mu L/kg) and exposure times (24, 48 and 72 h) on R. dominica. The results showed insecticidal activity of the oils and were arranged in the order of importance: M. viridiflora, E. camaldulensis and L. palmeri. There is a directly proportional relationship in the mortality parameter with respect to the oils exposure time and concentration. Of these, the one that exhibited the best effect was M. viridiflora on the mortality of R. dominica, the emergence of adult insects and the reduction in weight loss. Whereas, L. palmeri showed the best repellency. It is concluded that the three essential oils have potential activity for the control of R. dominica, reducing the wight loss in the grain.