Efficiency of essential oils emulsions against Whitefly Bemisia tabaci (GENN.) infesting potato plants under field conditions In Egypt

Abstract The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, nymphs, and adults sucking sap Excessive use of pesticides caused pollution of the environment and the death of beneficial insects, it is one of the most damaging pests of Potato, Solanum tuberosum, so it was necessary to search for more safe alternatives. An experiment was carried out during seasons 2021 and 2022 under field conditions in Egypt. The objective of this study aimed to use peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils and prepare coarse emulsions and nanoemulsions (CE and NE) of both peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils. The results reported that the numbers of nymphs per plant before treatment during season 2022 were greater than those in season 2021, which may be due to increasing temperature and decreasing precipitation, specific humidity, and wind speed. On the other hand, essential oil's nanoemulsion (NE) was more effective in controlling B. tabaci. Generally, the toxicity decreased with time after spraying. The second spray was more effective than the first spray. P (CE, NE) revealed the most effectiveness, followed by E (CE, NE) during both seasons. During season 2021, the NEs were slightly more effective than the CEs. During season 2022, recorded no significant difference between CEs and NEs. Also, the toxicity of the tested emulsions was highly effective during season 2021 compared with 2022 due to decreasing temperatures in December 2021 compared to December 2022. The study of the growth component deduced that the parameters of potato plants after being treated with tested emulsions showed that both peppermint coarse emulsion PCE and eucalyptus coarse emulsion ECE achieved slightly decreased portion levels. ECE increased total plant carbohydrates. However, our treatments did not affect the phenolic compounds of potato leaf plants, although ENE caused an increase in phenolic compounds. All treatments decreased the nitrogen plants' contents. Furthermore, PCE, PNE, and ENE increase the potassium content. All treatments increase the activity of peroxidase (POX) compared with untreated plants. The formulation obtained here might be an interesting alternative for integrated pest management of B. tabaci nymphs.