In Vivo Antiphytoviral and Aphid Repellency Activity of Essential Oils and Hydrosols from <i>Mentha suaveolens</i> and <i>Foeniculum vulgare</i> to Control Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus and Its Vector <i>Aphis gossypii</i>
Anna Taglienti,
Livia Donati,
Immacolata Dragone,
Luca Ferretti,
Andrea Gentili,
Fabrizio Araniti,
Filippo Sapienza,
Roberta Astolfi,
Simona Fiorentino,
Valerio Vecchiarelli,
Claudia Papalini,
Rino Ragno,
Sabrina Bertin
Affiliations
Anna Taglienti
Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy
Livia Donati
Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy
Immacolata Dragone
Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy
Luca Ferretti
Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy
Andrea Gentili
Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy
Fabrizio Araniti
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
Filippo Sapienza
Rome Center for Molecular Design, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Roberta Astolfi
Rome Center for Molecular Design, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Simona Fiorentino
Centro Appenninico del Terminillo “Carlo Jucci”, Perugia University, 02100 Rieti, Italy
Valerio Vecchiarelli
Centro Appenninico del Terminillo “Carlo Jucci”, Perugia University, 02100 Rieti, Italy
Claudia Papalini
ARSIAL Regional Agency for the Development and Innovation of Agriculture of Lazio, 00162 Rome, Italy
Rino Ragno
Rome Center for Molecular Design, Department of Drug Chemistry and Technology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Sabrina Bertin
Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 00156 Rome, Italy
In recent years, natural compounds have gained attention in many fields due to their wide-range biological activity. In particular, essential oils and their associated hydrosols are being screened to control plant pests, exerting antiviral, antimycotic and antiparasitic actions. They are more quickly and cheaply produced and are generally considered safer for the environment and non-target organisms than conventional pesticides. In this study, we report the evaluation of the biological activity of two essential oils and their corresponding hydrosols obtained from Mentha suaveolens and Foeniculum vulgare in the control of zucchini yellow mosaic virus and its vector, Aphis gossypii, in Cucurbita pepo plants. The control of the virus was ascertained with treatments applied either concurrently with or after virus infection; choice tests were performed to verify repellency activity against the aphid vector. The results indicated that treatments could decrease virus titer as measured using real-time RT-PCR, while the experiments on the vector showed that the compounds effectively repelled aphids. The extracts were also chemically characterized using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Mentha suaveolens and Foeniculum vulgare hydrosol extracts mainly comprised fenchone and decanenitrile, respectively, while essential oils analysis returned a more complex composition, as expected.
