Potential of cyclodextrin-based formulations of <italic>Rosmarinus officinalis</italic> essential oils in the control of the date moth <italic>Ectomyelois ceratoniae</italic> (Pyralidae)

Recently essential oils (EOs) encapsulation is experiencing growing applications in agricultural and agri-food sector. Encapsulation is reported as safe environmental technology leading to a reduction of conventional insecticides use. This study concerns the assessment of fumigant toxicity and persistence of <italic>Rosmarinus officinalis</italic> EO encapsulated in two cyclodextrins β-CD and HP-β-CD against larvae of the date moth, <italic>Ectomyelois ceratoniae.</italic> The retention capacity, encapsulation efficacy, loading capacity and release behavior of the two inclusion complexes were investigated. Results showed that two studied CDs had in important retention capacity. Additionally, the encapsulation within CDs delayed the release of rosemary EO bioactive components; which explains the effectiveness of the encapsulated rosemary EO in CDs against <italic>E. ceratoniae</italic> fifth instars larvae. Furthermore, the encapsulation in the two CDs improved the persistence of the insecticidal toxicity. This study supports the use of cyclodextrins, mainly HP-β-CD, in the date industry for the control of insect pests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]