Performance of mineral and plant-derived dusts against the cabbage stink bug (Eurydema ventralis Kolenati) on brassica leaves : mortality and feeding injury

Batistič, Luka (author), Trdan, Stanislav (author)

Eurydema ventralis has recently intensified in Brassica production in Central and Southeastern Europe, increasing the need for alternatives to conventional insecticides. This laboratory study evaluated five locally sourced inert and plant-derived dusts on the mortality and feeding damage of E. ventralis adults and nymphs. The tested materials were diatomaceous earth, zeolite, quartz sand, wood ash of Norway spruce and Ailanthus altissima leaf dust, compared with an untreated control and a lambda-cyhalothrin control. Mortality and feeding damage were recorded over seven days. The insecticide caused complete mortality in both developmental stages. Diatomaceous earth exhibited the highest efficacy among inert dusts, i.e., 78.3% mortality in adults and 55.2% in nymphs, and a feeding damage index of 3.5. Zeolite and wood ash caused moderate mortality (30.4 and 26.1% in adults; 37.9 and 24.1% in nymphs) and feeding indices of 4.5 and 4.5. A. altissima leaf dust caused low mortality (≤14.5%) but reduced feeding damage (3.7), indicating a deterrent or antifeedant effect. Quartz sand showed negligible efficacy. Diatomaceous earth appears most suitable for integration into sustainable Brassica protection, and A. altissima leaf dust may act as a complementary deterrent, though optimized composition and persistence should be further investigated.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Brassica pests, mineral-based insecticides, inert dusts, Ailanthus altissima leaf dust, antifeedant activity, contact toxicity, integrated pest management, sustainable agriculture
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 22 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 11, art. 1384
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-176044
• UDC: 632
• ISSN on article: 2311-7524
• DOI: 10.3390/horticulturae11111384
• COBISS.SI-ID: 257772291
• Publication date in RUL: 19.11.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Horticulturae
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2311-7524
• COBISS.SI-ID: 526326297

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: trajnostno varstvo rastlin, škodljivci rastlin, križnice, inertni prahovi, mineralni insekticidi, integrirano zatiranje škodljivcev

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: L4-3178
• Name: Razvoj in optimizacija nekemičnih načinov zatiranja rastlinskih škodljivcev z namenom njihove implementacije v sisteme trajnostnega kmetijstva

• Funder: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food of the Republic of Slovenia (MKGP)