Insecticidal Potential of Clove Essential Oil and Its Constituents on Cacopsylla chinensis (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) in Laboratory and Field

Cacopsylla chinensis (Yang and Li) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) is an important pest of pear in China. As an alternative to conventional chemical pesticides, botanicals including essential oils and their constituents could provide an eco-friendly and nonhazardous control method. In this study, the essential oil of clove buds (Syzygium aromaticum) was obtained by hydrodistillation. Five constituents, accounting for 99.89% of the oil, were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the major constituents were eugenol (88.61%) and eugenol acetate (8.89%), followed by β-caryophyllene (1.89%). In a laboratory bioassay, clove essential oil, commercial eugenol (99.00%) and β-caryophyllene (98.00%) exhibited strong contact toxicity against the summerform adults of C. chinensis with LD50 values of 0.730, 0.673, and 0.708 µg/adult, and against the nymphs with LD50 values of 1.795, 1.668, and 1.770 µg/nymph, respectively. In contrast, commercial eugenol acetate (98%) had LD50 values of 9.266 µg/adult and 9.942 µg/nymph. In a field trial, clove essential oil caused significant population reductions of 73.01% (4.80 mg/ml), 66.18% (2.40 mg/ml) and 46.56% (1.20 mg/ml), respectively. Our results demonstrated that clove essential oil and its constituents have potential as a source of natural insecticides.