The insect olfactory system discriminates odor signals of different biological relevance, which drive innate behavior. Identification of stimuli that trigger upwind flight attraction toward host plants is a current challenge, and is essential in developing new, sustainable plant protection methods, and for furthering our understanding of plant-insect interactions. Using behavioral, analytical a...

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an important culinary herb and essential oil source widely recognized worldwide. The of the plant beneficial for medicinal uses, it has many biological activities such as insect repellent, larvicidal, bactericidal. This study aimed to investigate basil's its chemical composition repellent activity. basil was extracted from fresh leaves by steam distillation method...

BACKGROUND Many insects feed on pollen surface lipids and contents accessible through the germination pores. Pollen walls, however, are not broken down because they consist of sporopollenin and are highly resistant to physical and enzymatic damage. Here we report that certain Microlepidoptera chemically dissolve pollen grains with exudates from their mouthparts. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS...

In response to insect feeding on the leaves, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plants release elevated levels of volatiles, which can serve as a chemical signal that attracts natural enemies of the herbivore to the damaged plant. Pulse-labeling experiments with [13C]CO2 demonstrated that many of the volatiles released, including the acyclic terpenes (E,E)-[alpha]-farnesene, (E)-[beta]-farnesene, (...

Aerial parts of Citrus aurantium L. were subjected to headspace (HS) and hydro-distillation (HD) techniques after drying, and then headspace volatiles and the essential oil were analyzed by GC/MS. Results of GC/MS analysis led to identification seventeen (99.8%) and sixteen (99.9%) constituents in samples extracted by HS methods in leaf and flower, respectively. (E)-β-ocimene (2.5%), Linalool (...

The herb, Conyza aegyptiaca L., was subjected to hydrodistillation process to extract the essential oil from the whole dry plant material. Larvae and adult stages of the mosquito, Anopheles pharoensis, and the housefly, Musca domestica, were used as test model organisms representing two dipterous insect pests of medical importance. Under standard bioassay test methods, the LC50 of the oil accou...

Purpose: To investigate the chemical composition and toxicity of the essential oil of Glycosmis parviflora (Sims) Little aerial parts against root-knot nematode and two grain storage insects (maize weevil and red flour beetle). Methods: Steam distillation of G. parviflora was carried out using Clavenger apparatus in order to extract its volatile oil. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometric (GC/MS...

Volatiles emitted by healthy Artemisia ordosica (Asteraceae) and plants infested with larvae of Sphenoptera sp. (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) or Holcocerus artemisiae (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) were obtained using a dynamic headspace method and analysed by automatic thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (ATD/GC/MS). Twenty-eight major compounds were identified, and qualitative and qu...

The peel volatile constituents and juice quality parameters of four tangerine cultivars were investigated in this study. Peel flavor constituents were extracted by using cold-press and eluted by using n-hexane. Then all analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Total soluble solids, total acids, pH value, ascorbic acid as well as density and ash were determined in juice obtained from tangerine cultivars. F...

The tea green leafhopper, Empoasca flavescens, is a major pest of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze. Until recently, it has mainly been controlled by pesticides, but their use led to high levels toxic residues in plants, which threaten both the environment and human health. Therefore, safer biological control approach needed. Tea plants produce many volatile compounds, different clones differ resis...