The Tunisian Essential Oil for Reducing Contamination of Stored Cereals by .

Essential oils of three species of genus ( L L. and (Asso)) were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and their potential insecticidal and repellent activities against the stored grain insect (Herbst) was investigated. Fumigant and repellent activity bioassays were investigated . Chemical characterisation of essential oils showed that the bicyclic monoterpenes were predominant in all essential oils, essential oil having the highest content of bicyclic monoterpenes, bicycloheptanes, naphthalenes and cycloalkenes. had the highest content of sesquiterpenoids and acyclic monoterpenoids. was characterised by the highest amounts of menthane monoterpenoids, oxanes, cumenes, oxolanes, ketones, benzenoids and monocyclic monoterpenes. Fumigant bioassay demonstrated that the three types of oil applied separately caused significant insect mortality. The lowest median lethal dose, LC=142.8 μL/L, was observed with . In repellency test, essential oil of was more potent with more rapid action than all other species. The mixture of sp. essential oils showed an antagonistic effect in all the tested combinations. This study highlighted an important potential of sp. especially and in the control of the pests of stored products.