Essential oils in plant protection in Europe : a review of efficacy and limitations of use

Gorišek, Mojca (author), Trdan, Stanislav (author)

Essential oils are increasingly investigated for their potential use in plant protection because of their insecticidal, fumigant, repellent, behavioural, and antifungal activities. This narrative review with a structured literature search synthesizes evidence relevant to European plant protection, focusing primarily on stored-product pests, with additional consideration of pests and plant pathogens outside storage systems, stage-specific susceptibility, formulation, practical limitations, and the EU regulatory framework. EO efficacy was strongly influenced by chemical composition, concentration, formulation, exposure time, developmental stage, target species, and environmental conditions. The strongest evidence was identified for stored-product pests (Coleoptera), although stage-specific susceptibility varied among species. Under field conditions, the practical application of essential oils remains challenging due to their high volatility, short persistence, sensitivity to environmental conditions, potential phytotoxicity, formulation requirements, and limited field validation. Methodological differences among assay types also limit direct comparison across studies. In the EU, regulatory acceptance remains substance-specific, with whole essential oils assessed separately from their individual volatile constituents. Most available evidence is derived from laboratory studies, while greenhouse and field validation remains limited. No formal methodological quality or risk-of-bias assessment of individual studies was performed. Overall, essential oils should be regarded as complementary, application-specific tools whose contribution to more sustainable plant protection depends on improved standardization, formulation, field validation, safety, economic viability, and regulatory acceptance.

• Language: English
• Keywords: essential oils, plant prostection, bioinsecticides, stored-product pests, integrated pest management, Europe
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 20 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 18, iss. 15, art. 7828
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-185418
• UDC: 632
• ISSN on article: 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su18157828
• COBISS.SI-ID: 286866179
• Publication date in RUL: 04.08.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Sustainability
• Shortened title: Sustainability
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2071-1050
• COBISS.SI-ID: 5324897

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: eterična olja, varstvo rastlin, bioinsekticidi, integrirano varstvo rastlin, skladiščni škodljivci

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Funding programme: Young Researcher Program

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P4-0013
• Name: Hortikultura