Horticultural Oil (5804)

What is Horticultural Oil?
There are two kinds of oil used for pest control. For a century, various oils have been used to control unwanted insects, fungi and mites on fruit trees and woody ornamentals. These oils, known as dormant oils, are heavier oils, and are applied during the winter (dormant) season only. Today’s newer horticultural oils are lighter and more highly refined. They may be made from petroleum products or plants. Often called ultra-fine, or summer oils, they can be applied to actively growing plants and plants in full leaf throughout the growing season

How do they work?
Horticultural oils work in several ways. They block the insect’s breathing holes, causing it to suffocate. Oil interferes with the cell metabolism in soft-bodied insects like aphids, scale, lace bug wooly adelged, mealybug, whitefly, and some caterpillars. Oils can disrupt the feeding patterns of certain disease carrying insects and can even kill overwintering insect eggs and fungal spores.

For more information: "Horticultural Oils"

Penn State Entomology Dept.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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