Botanical compounds to combat vineyards mealybugs: an ideal alternative for organic vitiviniculture?

PESCHIUTTA, M.L.; BRITO, V.D.; ACHIMÓN, F.; DAMBOLENA, JOSÉ SEBASTIAN; ZYGADLO, J.A.; ORDANO, M.

Journal of Botanical Sciences

Research and Reviews

Año: 2018 vol. 7 p. 9 - 9

2320-0189

he vine mealybug (Planococcus ficus) is a major pest in vineyards and iswidespread in most grape-growing areas, however, to date; few organic productshave been tested to combat them. Mealybugs have an important waxy cover, whichprotects them from most synthetic insecticides. This class of insecticides couldcause damage to the ecosystem and human health, and therefore the currentneed for viticulture is centered in searching novel formulations based on botanicalproducts to fight pests in a healthier way and maintaining the sustainability ofagricultural systems. In this review we show that, despite the negative impact ofmealybugs against economically important crops, such as vineyards, there arefew studies related to organic control using natural compounds (botanical extractsand/or essential oils). However, many of these studies are incomplete becausethey did not include field application or phytotoxicity tests in crops. We discussthe extent of knowledge of botanical compounds for mealyb