The effect of sulfur, wollastonite, biotite, zeolite, graphite, perlite, and feldspar on oviposition and egg hatching of common pistachio psylla Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer (Hem.: Psyllidae) in orchard conditions

Background: Common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer (Hem.: Psyllidae), is one of the most important pests of pistachio trees in Iran. Considering the risks of overusing synthetic chemical pesticides, it seems that the use of mineral compounds as insecticides is one of the ways to reduce the residual amount of dangerous toxins. Materials and Methods: In this study, mineral compounds (sulfur, wollastonite, biotite, zeolite, graphite, perlite and feldspar) were used to investigate the oviposition rate of adult insects as well as egg hatching. Results: The results showed that the leaves treated with feldspar (0.01 ± 0.00), zeolite (0.07 ± 0.001) and perlite (0.97 ± 0.021) at a concentration of 50,000 mg/l were reported to have the greatest decrease in terms of the oviposition rate of the pest in the first year. The results of oviposition rate in the second year indicated that the leaves treated with zeolite and biotite had a significant decrease and increase respectively, compared to the control group. Studies also showed that zeolite treatment could not make any changes in the process of egg hatching. Conclusion: Given the favorable effect of feldspar, zeolite and perlite in reducing oviposition rate, foliar application of pistachio trees with these compounds can control the population of pistachio psylla.