title: Efficacy and Mode of Action of Kaolin in the Control of Empoasca vitis and Zygina rhamni (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in Vineyards.
abstract: During 2015, the influence of kaolin applications and bunch-zone leaf removal on the grapevine leafhoppers, Empoasca vitis (Göthe) and Zygina rhamni Ferrari, and their egg parasitoids (Anagrus spp.) was tested in four vineyards of northeastern Italy. The mode of action of kaolin on E. vitis nymphs was also investigated in the laboratory. In the treated plots, kaolin was applied at a rate of 2% w/v on two occasions separated by 5-6 d. In two vineyards, it was applied either on the whole canopy or the bunch zone at the beginning of the E. vitis second generation (preventive criterion), and in the other two vineyards, it was applied to the whole canopy at the peak of the E. vitis third generation (curative criterion). Both the preventive and curative kaolin applications caused a significant decrease in the populations of E. vitis and Z. rhamni nymphs. The effect of the preventive applications was persistent and was associated with reduced E. vitis leaf symptoms. Kaolin did not influence the activity of Anagrus spp. Bunch-zone leaf removal did not affect leafhopper populations. Laboratory experiments showed that inhibition of feeding was the main mode of action through which kaolin affected nymph populations. Based on these outcomes, kaolin could be a valuable alternative to synthetic insecticides in controlling grapevine leafhoppers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences (DI4A), University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy (tacoli@outlook.it; francesco.pavan@uniud.it; elena.cargnus@uniud.it; tilatti.elisabetta@spes.uniud.it; pietro.zandigiacomo@uniud.it).
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tacoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences (DI4A), University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy ( tacoli@outlook.it ; francesco.pavan@uniud.it ; elena.cargnus@uniud.it ; tilatti.elisabetta@spes.uniud.it ; pietro.zandigiacomo@uniud.it ).|Corresponding author, e-mail: francesco.pavan@uniud.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pavan
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences (DI4A), University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy (tacoli@outlook.it; francesco.pavan@uniud.it; elena.cargnus@uniud.it; tilatti.elisabetta@spes.uniud.it; pietro.zandigiacomo@uniud.it).
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cargnus
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences (DI4A), University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy (tacoli@outlook.it; francesco.pavan@uniud.it; elena.cargnus@uniud.it; tilatti.elisabetta@spes.uniud.it; pietro.zandigiacomo@uniud.it).
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tilatti
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padua, Via dell'Università 16, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy (alberto.pozzebon@unipd.it).
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pozzebon
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences (DI4A), University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy (tacoli@outlook.it; francesco.pavan@uniud.it; elena.cargnus@uniud.it; tilatti.elisabetta@spes.uniud.it; pietro.zandigiacomo@uniud.it).
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zandigiacomo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000254:growth & development; D007300:Insect Control; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity; D007558:Italy; D007616:Kaolin / Q000633:toxicity; D009758:Nymph / Q000254:growth & development; D058871:Organic Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D013045:Species Specificity; D027843:Vitis / Q000254:growth & development; D014863:Wasps / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D007616:Kaolin
keywords: feeding inhibition; grapevine; leaf removal; leafhopper, Anagrus