Fumigant toxicity of <i>Eucalyptus intertexta</i>, <i>Eucalyptus sargentii</i> and <i>Eucalyptus camaldulensis</i> against stored‐product beetles

Abstract

Abstract: Three essential oils extracted from the species of the family Myrtaceae found in Kashan (centre regions of Iran) were shown to have potent fumigant toxicity against three major stored‐product insects: Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.), Sitophilus oryzae (L.) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst). These were the essential oils from Eucalyptus intertexta R.T. Baker, Eucalyptus sargentii Maiden and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. The mortality of 1‐ to 7‐day‐old adults of the insect pests increased with concentration from 37 to 926 μ l/l air and with exposure time from 3 to 24 h. The LC 50 values to the selected essential oils were between 2.55 and 3.97 μ l/l air for C. maculatus , 6.93 and 12.91 μ l/l for S. oryzae and 11.59 and 33.50 μ l/l air for T. castaneum . Fumigant effects of these essential oils were considered to warrant further research into their potential for commercial use.