EXAMINATION OF THE ACARICIDAL EFFECT OF A SET OF COLOMBIAN NATIVE PLANTS-DERIVED EXTRACTS AGAINST TETRANYCHUS URTICAE KOCH UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS

Abstract

The spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is one of the main pests of greenhouse cut flowers. Different alternative strategies have been pursued for the management of this pest to avoid the excessive use of chemical products of high toxicological levels. Within these strategies is included the use of ethanolic and oily extracts from plants belonging to various plant families exhibiting acaricidal activity. For this reason, the objective of this work was the selection and evaluation of some botanical extracts from native plants in Colombia that can be used to manage T. urticae. Thus, as part of our research on bioacaricides, the direct effect of five plant extracts on the mortality and fecundity of the egg, larva, nymph and adult stages of the mite and the chemical composition of each extract was additionally determined by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS). It was found that the test extracts showed a low efficiency on eggs, larvae and nymphs of T. urticae, since mortalities did not reach 50%. However, in the case of adults, the extracts of Cnidoscolus aconitifoluis, Copaifera oficinalis and Anadenanthera peregrina could be suggested as promissory extracts for the management of adults of T. urticae, since they caused mortalities greater than 60% and reduced female fecundity. The main secondary metabolites identified were flavonoids, whose presence in test extracts would be associated with the acaricidal potentiality referred to.