Abstract The overuse of synthetic pesticide, a consequence of the rush to increase crop production, led to tremendous adverse effects, as they constitute a major pollutant for both soils and water, with a high toxicity towards humans and animals and, at the same time, led to development of pest resistance. In the last period, the researches were directed towards finding new solutions with a lower toxicity, less damaging behaviour towards the environment, and a better specificity of action. In this context, the use of essential oils, a complex and unique mixture of compounds, can be considered for the next-generation pesticides. This review aims to present the main applications of the essential oils as insecticides, herbicides, acaricides, and nematicides, as they emerged from the scientific literature published in the last 5 years (2015 to present). From the identified articles within the time period, only those dealing with essential oils obtained by the authors (not commercially available) were selected to be inserted in the review, characterized using established analytical techniques and employed for the envisaged applications. The review is concluded with a chapter containing the main conclusions of the literature study and the future perspectives, regarding the application of essential oils as next-generation pesticides.

中文翻译：

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精油作为下一代杀虫剂的应用：近期发展和未来展望

摘要 过度使用合成农药是急于增加作物产量的结果，导致了巨大的不利影响，因为它们是土壤和水的主要污染物，对人类和动物具有高毒性，同时，导致害虫抗性的发展。在最后一个时期，研究的方向是寻找毒性更低、对环境破坏行为更小的新解决方案，以及更好的作用特异性。在这种情况下，可以考虑将精油这种复杂而独特的化合物混合物用于下一代杀虫剂。本综述旨在介绍精油作为杀虫剂、除草剂、杀螨剂和杀线虫剂的主要应用，因为它们是从过去 5 年（2015 年至今）发表的科学文献中出现的。从该时间段内确定的文章中，只有那些涉及作者获得的精油（非市售）的文章被选择插入评论中，使用已建立的分析技术进行表征并用于预期的应用。综述的最后一章包含文献研究的主要结论和未来展望，关于精油作为下一代杀虫剂的应用。使用已建立的分析技术进行表征并用于预期的应用。综述的最后一章包含文献研究的主要结论和未来展望，关于精油作为下一代杀虫剂的应用。使用已建立的分析技术进行表征并用于预期的应用。综述的最后一章包含文献研究的主要结论和未来展望，关于精油作为下一代杀虫剂的应用。