Tea tree and wintergreen essential oils in the management of the invasive species Cortaderia selloana and Nicotiana glauca

• Main Authors: María Dolores Ibáñez, María Amparo Blázquez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Polish Academy of Sciences 2019-07-01
• Series: Journal of Plant Protection Research
• Subjects: Cortaderia selloana; essential oils; Nicotiana glauca; phytotoxicity; tea tree; wintergreen
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.24425/jppr.2019.129281
• ISSN: 1899-007X; 1899-007X

The chemical composition of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) and wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) essential oils as well as their phytotoxic effects against two invasive species – Cortaderia selloana and Nicotiana glauca – were studied. Fifty-eight compounds accounting for 98.89–99.94% of the total commercial tea tree and wintergreen essential oils were identified by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Tea tree essential oil with terpinen- 4-ol (28.37 ± 0.05%) followed by 1,8-cineole (15.81 ± 0.06%), γ-terpinene (15.60 ± 0.03%), α-pinene (10.92 ± 0.08%) and α-terpinene (8.52 ± 0.01%) as the main compounds did not produce significant effects against seed germination and hypocotyl growth of N. glauca, but showed significant effects in seed germination inhibition of C. selloana (34.69%) as well as in hypocotyl (60.96%) and radicle (62.55%) growth, at the highest dose (1 μl ⋅ ml–1) assayed. High amounts of methyl salicylate (99.63 ± 0.02%) were found in G. procumbens essential oil with remarkable phytotoxic effects in C. seollana. Methyl salicylate inhibited seed germination (77.38%) and hypocotyl and radicle growth (96.38% and 96.65%, respectively) at the highest dose (1 μl ⋅ ml–1) assayed. Wintergreen essential oil constitutes an eco-friendly alternative to control the high capacity of invasiveness of C. selloana.