Citrus Leafminer Management: Jasmonic Acid versus Efficient Pesticides

The citrus leafminer (Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton) is a significant pest for Citrus spp. worldwide. Hence, the effectiveness of jasmonic acid (JA) was compared to three pesticides, abamectin, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid, against P. citrella infesting mandarin (Citrus reticulata L.) and lime (C. aurantifolia L.) seedlings. Mortality rate was significantly different due to JA and other pesticides treatments. Moreover, on the 3rd day after treatment, JA demonstrated the highest reduction percentage of leafminer (77.08 and 33.33%) on mandarin and lime, respectively. By the 10th day after treatment, JA and abamectin displayed 100% reduction in both plant species. Furthermore, the foliar application of JA enhanced the most vegetative characteristics in the treated seedlings, including growth rate (shoot length/root length), fresh and dry weights of shoot and root as well as the number of leaves/seedling. Moreover, soluble protein content was increased significantly under JA treatment in the two Citrus spp. Jasmonic acid showed a good biological activity, which gives a practical reason to recommend it to be integrated in pest management programs as an alternative product for controlling P. citrella.