Abstract
<p>The use of chemical insecticides in crop production has resulted in increased food production in Africa, but their use has resulted in the destruction of beneficial organisms and development of resistance by some insects to the insecticides. The effectiveness of garlic <em>Allium sativum</em> and hot pepper, <em>Capsicum frutescens</em> in controlling the pests of cabbage, <em>Brassica oleracea</em> was evaluated. These botanicals were compared with a standard chemical insecticide Attack® (Emamectin benzoate). The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design, with 3 treatments and a control, each of which was replicated 3 times. <em>Plutella xylostella, Brevicoryne brassicae, Hellula undalis</em> and <em>Trichoplusia ni</em> were found on cabbage plants. Significantly fewer of them were found on the treated plants than the control plants. The use of the plant extracts resulted in a reduction in mortality ranging from 10.76% to 55.94%. Fewer natural enemies of <em>B. brassicae</em> were sampled on the insecticide-sprayed plots than the garlic and pepper-sprayed plots. The cost of protecting cabbage plants from insect infestation using Attack was higher than the botanicals. Garlic-treated plots recorded the highest cost: benefit ratio of 1:16 while Attack®-treated plots recorded the least of 1: 9.2. The control effects of the botanicals compared favourably with that of the chemical insecticides. Thus these botanicals can be used as substitutes to chemical insecticides.</p>
Highlights
The problem of feeding the ever-increasing population of Africa is being hampered by a number of constraints to increased food production such as low soil fertility, poor seed quality, low rainfall, diseases and pests which attack crops both on the field and during storage
The use of chemical insecticides in crop production has resulted in increased food production in Africa, but their use has resulted in the destruction of beneficial organisms and development of resistance by some insects to the insecticides
The effectiveness of garlic Allium sativum and hot pepper, Capsicum frutescens in controlling the pests of cabbage, Brassica oleracea was evaluated
Summary
The problem of feeding the ever-increasing population of Africa is being hampered by a number of constraints to increased food production such as low soil fertility, poor seed quality, low rainfall, diseases and pests which attack crops both on the field and during storage. The combined effects of these factors are responsible for the low agricultural productivity in Ghana and Africa as a whole. Even though many factors are responsible for low yields of most crops, the most important factor is the incidence and resurgence of pests. The cultivation of vegetable crops in Ghana has always been associated with the use of chemical pesticides to control pests due to their quick action. Due to the incidence of insect pests and diseases, farmers apply chemical insecticides to improve the yields of their crops. In Ghana, the vegetables commonly cultivated are tomatoes, onion, pepper and egg plant; in recent years the cultivation of cabbage as part of urban and peri-urban agriculture has increased, with cultivation of the crop taking place along rivers and streams
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