Can some plant oils be used in desert locust IPM?

Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), is one of the most important insect pests in Saudi Arabia and other countries. Cultivated crops and range land plants are heavily infested. The main objective of this study is to determine the use of six plant oils to control desert locust and to replace chemical insecticides for the management of desert locust. The result data showed that clove and black pepper oils had effects while the other four plant oils had no effects. The1.5% concentration caused a 100% mortality while 0.05% concentration caused morphogenetic defects in nymphs which results in increasing mortality rates in the subsequent nymphs instars. The malformations involved in deformed legs, wing malformations, as well as eyes and degenerated antennae and no malformations on control insects. The study highlights the significance of the two plant oils that can be incorporated in desert locust IPM programs as stomach and contact poison.