contact toxicity of some formulated herbal composition on two spotted spider mite

the two-spotted spider mite, tetranychus urticae koch, is a polyphagus pest which infests wide range of field, garden and greenhouse crops worldwide. pesticide applications against this pest have caused development of resistance, undesirable effects on non target organisms and environment and secondary pest outbreak. in recent years, herbal essential oils have received attention as natural plant protection compounds. in this study, lethal effects of 5 formulated compositions based on herbal essential oils including b: extract of chinaberry oil 5%, c: chinaberry oil 5% + peppermint 5% + pennyroyal 2% + cinnamon 2%, d: chinaberry oil 5% + peppermint 2% + pennyroyal 2% + rosemary 2%, e: chinaberry oil 5% + peppermint 2% + pennyroyal 2% + eucalyptus 5% and f: chinaberry oil 5% + peppermint 2% + rosemary 2% + eucalyptus 5% were studied using leaf dipping method on female adults of t. urticae. although composition of e had the highest lethal effect (4.978 ml/l) 24 h after treatment, had no significant difference with the other treatments except compositions of d. the results showed that formulated composition based on peppermint, pennyroyal and eucalyptus with extract of chinaberry have desired contact toxicity against the two spotted spider mite. the findings of this study can be considered for practical use of essential oils as green pesticides.