Corn Pests and Evaluation of the Implementation of Integrated Pest Management in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is one of the maize-producing countries in the world. However, Indonesia's production is below the world average. One of the problems that can reduce productivity is pests. In addition, although corn is grown globally in Indonesia, it is usually not grown under the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. Therefore, this study aims to obtain pest information on maize and evaluate the application of IPM in West Sumatra. The study was conducted centra production of maize in West Sumatra from May 2019 to August 2020. The method used purposive random sampling. The results showed differences in the population density of pests on centra production of maize in West Sumatra. The highest percentage of pest attacks on cornfields was Pasaman Regency (41%), while the lowest pest attack was in Solok Regency (19%). The difference in population density of pests caused the influence of climate, varieties of maize, altitude, weather conditions at the time of pest observation, and the application of IPM. Several types of pests found were Beetles (Chrysomelidae), Aphids (Aphididae), Seed Flies (Muscidae), Grasshopper Oxya Chinensis (Acrididae), Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Noctuidae), and Corn Planthoppers (Delphacidae). The most common pest found attacking maize in West Sumatra were S. frugiperda. Then the study results also showed that not all corn farmers in West Sumatra applied IPM in their corn cultivation. IPM is needed to manage corn pests, so there is no economic loss.