Toxicity of Essential Oils Isolated from Achillea millefolium L., Artemisia dracunculus L. and Heracleum persicum Desf. Against Adults of Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Islamic Republic of Iran

The environmental problems caused by overuse of synthetic insecticide have been the matter of concern in recent years. Essential oils from aromatic plants are recognized as proper alternatives to conventional insecticides. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the Fumigant toxicity of essential oils from Achillea millefolium, Artemisia dracunculus and Heracleum persicum against adults of Plodia interpunctella under laboratory conditions and mortality was determined after 12, 24, 36 and 48 h from beginning of exposure. The essential oils were extracted from seeds of H. persicum and aerial parts from 1.5 cm of top of A. millefolium, A. dracunculus by hydrodistillation method using a Clevenger apparatus. All essential oil were highly effective against P. interpunctella and the mortality values reached 100% when the adults were exposed to 50, 65 and 80 μl/ l concentrations of A. dracunculus, A. millefolium and H. persicum essential oil, respectively. The LC50 (lethal concentration to kill 50% of the population) values of essential oils from A. dracunculus, A. millefolium and H. persicum were 22.24, 34.80 and 36.96 μl/ l after 24 h fumigation, respectively. On the other hand, A. dracunculus oil was more effective than the other essential oils against P. interpunctella adults. The LC50 values decreased with increasing of exposure times. In all cases, considerable differences in the mortality of insect to essential oils were observed with different concentrations and exposure times. These results suggest that the essential oils of A. millefolium, A. dracunculus and H. persicum have merit further studies as potential fumigants for the management of P. interpunctella or probably other stored-product insects.