Biography:

Maria Jose Jordan is a research scientist with more than 20 years of experience working on selection, breeding and new applications in food technology of aromatic and medicinal plants. She is responsible for the coordination and consolidation of new lines of research within the Rainfed Agriculture for Rural Development research group at the Murcia Institute of Agri-Food and Environmental Research (IMIDA). Throughout her scientific career, she has published more than 90 scientific articles.

Abstract:
The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, causes major yield loss in numerous plants. The control of this mite is achieved mainly with synthetic acaricides; other strategies are the use of predatory mites or plant natural products. This study evaluated the effects of Lavandula latifolia Medik. (Lamiaceae) essential oil on the survival rate and fecundity of T. urticae by slide-dip and leaf-disk bioassays. Acute contact toxicity was provoked by different spike lavender oil concentrations although 95-100% mortality was observed when emulsions contained at least 0.20% (v/v). In the residual toxicity experiments, lavender oil (0.15-0.25%) reduced mite survival and affected its fecundity; laid eggs and emerging larvae were lowered as the oil concentration increased. Incubation temperature determined egg viability; 12ºC did not allow larval development, while the highest percentage of hatched eggs was counted at 30ºC. Our results confirmed the possibility of using spike lavender oil as an alternative to conventional pesticides.