Toxic Profiling of Sulfur Formulations against Tetranychus urticae and Agonoscena pistaciae

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Fahimeh ًَAzod
Azam Mikani
S. Moharramipour
Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract
This study comprehensively evaluated the mortality effects of two sulfur-based formulations, wettable sulfur and Thiovit Jet, against adult females of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), and fifth nymphs of the common pistachio psyllid, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), due to their economic importance as key pests and their documented resistance to conventional acaricides/insecticides, through various methods, including direct contact, fumigation, exposure of pests to the dry sulfur residues on the leaf surface, and ovicidal activities under controlled laboratory conditions. Based on preliminary tests, contact assays used 1000–5000 mg/L, while other tests used 1000–20000 mg/L to evaluate the potential effects of sulfur formulations under laboratory conditions. Contact assays showed 100% mortality for both formulations at 5000 mg/L after 72 h against both pests. Fumigation tests at 20000 mg/L caused 93–94% mortality in T. urticae and 88% in A. pistaciae for both formulations. The effects of dried sulfur residues on the leaf surface and ovicidal activity were negligible. Maximum mortality caused by dried sulfur residues on the leaf surface was ≤13.33% and egg hatching >75% across all treatments. These findings indicate that sulfur acts primarily through direct contact and fumigant modes of action, with limited activity of dried sulfur residues on the leaf surface and ovicidal activity. This efficacy profile supports the strategic use of sulfur formulations in integrated pest management (IPM) programs targeting mobile stages of these pests.
Keywords
Egg viability
Mortality assessment
Pest management strategies
Pesticide performance
Sulfur formulations
Subjects
1.   Abbott, W. S. 1925. A method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide. J. Econ. Entomol., 18: 265–267.
2.   Afrousheh, M. and Hasheminasab, H. 2018. Sulfur application as pesticide in pistachio orchard: health and safety. Pistachio Health J. 1(3): 52-63.
3.   Alizadeh, A., Talebi -Jahromi, K., Hosseininaveh, V. and Ghadamyari, M. 2014. Toxicological and biochemical characterizations of AChE in phosalone susceptible and resistant populations of the common pistachio psyllid, Agonoscena pistaciae. J. Insect Sci., 14(1): 18.
4.   Auger, P., Guichou, S. and Kreiter, S. 2003.Variations in acaricidal effect of wettable sulphur on Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae): effect of temperature, humidity and life stage. Pest Manag. Sci.,59: 559–565.
5.   Basirat, M. 2003. The Effect of Some Insecticides on Pistachio Psyllid and Side Effect on Two Species of Its Natural Enemies. The Final Report of Iranian Pistachio Research Institute. 29 pp. (In Persian with English summary).
6.   Bemani, M., Moravvej, G., Izadi, H. and Sadeghi -Namaghi, H. 2018. Variation in insecticidal susceptibility of Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae), and its coccinellid predator, Oenopia conglobata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). J. Kans. Entomol. Soc., 91(2): 110 -118
7.   Brandenburg, R. L. and Kennedy, G. G. 1987. Ecological and agricultural considerations in the management of two spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch). ‏Agric. Zool. Rev., 2: 185–236.
8.   El Kady, G. A., El Sharabasy, H., Mahmoud, M. and Bahgat, I. 2007. Toxicity of two potential bio-insecticides against movable stages of Tetranychus urticae Koch. Appl. Sci. Res., 3(11): 1315-1319.
9.   Emmett, B., Wicks, T. and Magarey, P. 2003. Strategic use of sulphur in integrated pest and disease management (IPM) programs for grapevines. Final Report to GWRDC, Project Number LDAV., 98(1): 220.‏
10.  Forsyth, W. 1818. A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees. 6th Edn, Longman, Hurst, Rees, Michigan, USA, 481 pp.
11.  Gressel, J. 2020. Perspective: present pesticide discovery paradigms promote the evolution of resistance – learn from nature and prioritize multi-target site inhibitor design. Pest. Manag. Sci.., 76(2): 421-425
12.  ‏Hamedi, N. 2022. Side effects of pesticides on population growth parameters, life table parameters, and predation of the subsequent generation of phytoseiid mites. In: Pesticides-Updates on Toxicity, Efficacy and Risk Assessment. (Eds.): Larramendy, M. L. and Soloneski, S., IntechOpen. London, doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104229
13.  Hassani, M. R., Nouri -Ganbalani, G., Izadi, H., Shojai, M. and Basirat, M. 2009. Economic injury level of the psyllid, Agonoscena pistaciae, on pistachio, Pistacia vera cv. Ohadi. 4pp. J. Insect Sci., 9: 40. available online: insectscience.org/9.40
14.  Hassani MR, Nouri-Ganbalani G, Izadi H, Shojai M, Basirat M. 2009. Economic injury level of the psyllid, Agonoscena pistaciae, on pistachio,
15.  Pistacia vera cv. Ohadi. 4pp. Journal of Insect Science 9:40, available online: insectscience.org/9.40
16.  Helle, W. and Sabelis, M. W. 1985. Spider mites: their biology, natural enemies and control. Amsterdam: Elsevier.‏ Vol. 1, pp. 141-160.
17.  Mehrnejad, M. R. 2001. The current status of pistachio pests in Iran. Cah. Options Mediterr., 56(1): 315-322.‏
18.  Mehrnejad, M. R. 2002. Pistachio psylla and other major psyllids of Iran. Agr. Res. Edu. Org. Tehran, Iran, 124 pp. (in Persian).
19.  Mehrnejad, M. R. 2010. Potential biological control agents of the common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae, a review. Entomofauna, 31(21): 317-340.‏
20.  Mersino, E. 2002. Mites on ornamentals. Miscellaneous Pests. Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa; p. 1–3.
21.  Migeon, A., Nouguier, E. and Dorkeld, F. 2009. Spider Mites Web: A comprehensive database for the Tetranychidae. In: Sabelis, M.W. and Bruin, J. (Eds.) Trends in Acarology. Proc. 12th Intl. Cong., Springer Netherlands, pp. 557-560.
22.  Mostafavi, M., Lashkari, M., Iranmanesh, S. and Mansouri, S. M. 2017. Variation in populations of common pistachio psyllid, Agonoscena pistaciae (Hem.: Psyllidae), with different chemical control levels: narrower wing shape in the stressed environment. J. Crop Prot., 6(3): 353 -362.
23.  Park, Y. L. and Lee, J. H. 2002. Leaf cell and tissue damage of cucumber caused by two spotted spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae). J. Econ. Entomol.,95(5): 952-957.‏
24.  Patra, B., Sahoo, S. K. and Hath, T. K. 2020. Studies on Ovicidal Activities of Selected Acaricides Against Oligonychus coffeae Nietner on Tea. J. Entomol. Zool. Stud., 8(2): 554–556.
25.  Porcuna, J. L. 2002. Horticultura ecológica. In: Labrador J, Porcuna JL, Bello Aeds, (Eds.): Manual de Agricultura y Ganadería Ecológica .Eumedia, Madrid, pp. 73–85.
26.  Roshani, G., Abbasipour, H. and Karimi, J. 2021. Evaluation of effect of biorational insecticides on horticultural indices of the pistachio trees infested with the pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae. Arch. Phytopathol. Plant Prot.,54(13-14): 782-793.‏
27.  Sanders, W. W., Brewer, M. T., Severns, P. M., Lowder, S. R., Eason, N., MacAllister, C. and Brannen, P. M. 2025. Assessment of sulfur phytotoxicity on Vitis vinifera grapevines in northern Georgia. Crop Prot., 198: 107-392.‏
28.  ‏Sheibani Tezerji, Z. 2025. The effect of different sulfur sources on the common pistachio psyllid and some of its natural enemies in case studies. J. Appl. Res. NUTS. 2(3): 52-63.
29.  Stumpf, N. and Nauen, R. 2001. Cross-resistance, inheritance, and biochemistry of mitochondrial electron transport inhibitor-acaricide resistance in Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 94: 1577–1583.
30.  US EPA. 1991. Registration eligibility document (RED): Sulphur list A, Case 0031. Docket No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-76.Availablefromhttps://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/reregistration/red_PC077501_16-Apr-91.pdf
31.  US EPA. 1994. Private pesticide applicator training manual. 19th ed. Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station.
32.  USDA. 2017. National organic program: USDA organic regulations. Fed. Reg. 82(53): 14420–14425.
Wang, T., Yang, Y., Liu, M., Liu, H., Liu, H., Xia, Y. and Xun, L. 2022. Elemental Sulfur Inhibits Yeast Growth via Producing Toxic Sulfide and Causing Disulfide Stress. Antioxidants, 11(3): 576.
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 September 2026