In search of bIopestIcIdes: The effect of caraway Carum carvi essentIal oIl and Its major constItuents on peach potato aphId Myzus persicae probIng behavIor

Abstract

The application of caraway essential oil and its main components, carvone and limonene, to plant surface caused significant changes in aphid probing at the level of non-vascular tissues as well as sieve elements. On treated plants, probes were short and non-probing intervals were long, phloem phase was short and sustained sap ingestion periods occurred sporadically. The deterrent activity of caraway oil is determined mainly by the content of carvone that has the most significant impact on aphid probing behavior. The impediment of aphid probing at the pre-ingestive (pre-phloem) and/or ingestive (phloem) phases revealed the passage of compounds through the plant surface and distribution within tissues in a systemic way.

Keywords

• antifeedants, essential oils, caraway, Electrical Penetration Graph