Rose essential oils to repel pests is a safe, environmentally friendly pest control method.
Organic farming faces an ongoing challenge: how to effectively combat pests while adhering to strict guidelines that prohibit the use of synthetic chemicals. The search for sustainable pest control methods in organic agriculture has long been a priority, but scientists from Tokyo University of Science may have found a solution: rose essential oils to repel pests.
Rose essential oil is a concentrated liquid extract derived from the petals of the rose flower. It is known for its fragrance and numerous health and beauty benefits. It is widely used in aromatherapy for its calming and mood-enhancing properties and is also found in skincare products for its purported skin-rejuvenating and moisturizing effects.
Rose essential oil contains compounds such as citronellol and geraniol, which are known to have mosquito-repellent properties and can repel ticks. Rose essential oils to repel pests are a potential repellent for aphids, which are common pests that can damage a wide range of plants by sucking sap from leaves and stems. Some people use rose essential oil as a natural ant repellent, applying it around doorways, windows, or other entry points to discourage ants from entering buildings or homes.
Recently, scientists have found a new purpose for rose essential oil by using it as an organic pesticide. Scientists from the Tokyo University of Science tested the rose essential oil on tomato plants and found that it played an important role in activating defense genes in tomato leaves.
Rose essential oils to repel pests have been found to induce neurotoxic effects in insects, which causes a repellent response. In this study, the rose essential oil significantly reduced leaf damage from common predators like mites and moths.
The scientists found that Rose essential oils to repel pests could be an organic alternative to pesticides during the winter and spring seasons when pest infestation is less severe and could potentially reduce pesticide usage by almost 50% during summers. Additionally, because rose essential oil comes from natural sources, it is not harmful to human or ecosystem health and could be used in organic farming.
In addition to using rose essential oils to repel pests, rose essential oil can attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps. These natural predators can help keep pest populations in check by preying on them, reducing the need for chemical pesticides. As in the case of the tomato plants, a low concentration of rose essential oil didn’t necessarily repel the mite’s pests, but it did attract one of their predators, which will eat the mites before it reaches the tomato plants.
This is not the first time natural pesticides have been explored in agriculture. Soybean and komatsuna plants grown near mint plants have seen significant improvements in defense properties and have become resistant to herbivores. This is a process called “eavesdropping,” where a mint plant releases volatile compounds that trigger defense genes. Upon detecting these chemical signals, the soybean and komatsuna plants undergo a series of physiological and biochemical changes, activating their innate defense mechanisms in anticipation of an attack from a herbivore.
Strawberry farmers in Quebec have also been known to explore natural predators to eliminate the need for pesticides. They have found that a biological control agent could pursue prey in the environment and help regulate the population of pests throughout a given territory.
Using natural sources such as rRose essential oils to repel pests can effectively make agriculture and farming more sustainable. It can help farmers avoid harmful chemicals that can damage ecosystems and environments. These ‘new’ natural pesticides can significantly change how we practice sustainable and organic farming and may eventually help phase out harmful and synthetic fertilizers.