Acaricidal Effects of Silicon and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles against Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) on Tomato Plants1
ABSTRACT Laboratory and greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of commercially available silicon oxide nanoparticle (SiO-NP) and zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO-NP) powder, applied at 5, 50 and 100 ppm, on the adult and egg stages of the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), on tomato plants, Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanaceae). The efficacy of SiO-NP and ZnO-NP on spider mites was assessed after 1, 3, 5 and 7 d after aplication in the greenhouse experiment. Results of the laboratory experiment showed that SiO-NP and ZnO-NP at 100 ppm caused 100% mortality among adult mites at 72 h after treatment and among eggs at 7 d post-treatment. SiO-NP and ZnO-NP at 50 and 100 ppm caused withered plants, but treatments at 5 ppm caused 85.4% and 100% adult mortality, respectively, and both treatments caused 100% egg mortality at 7 d after treatment in the greenhouse experiment. Average leaf damaged was 25% on the untreated plants but at 0.7% and 0.9% on plants treated with SiO-NP and ZnO-NP at 5 ppm, respectively. These results suggest that application of SiO-NP and ZnO-NP at 5 ppm is effective in controlling T. urticae.