Effect of botanical insecticides against Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

Spodoptera frugiperda or Fall Armyworm is an insect pest that highly polyphagous and considered to have greater damage than the other Spodoptera. Two botanical insecticides, i.e. aqueous extract of tobacco leaf (Nicotiana tabacum) and tuba roots (Derris elliptica) were examined for their effects in mortality (applied by contact and residue) and as a feed reduction. The mortality study was designed in a Completely Randomized Design with three treatments and thirty replications. One replication consists of one larva, then there are thirty larvae in one replication. The results showed that the aqueous extract of tobacco leaf and tuba roots which were applied by contact gave mortality rates as much as 50.0% and 56.7% consecutively, whereas by residual application, the aqueous extract of tobacco leaf (40% mortality) was more toxic compared to aqueous extract of tuba root (23.6% mortality). Aqueous tobacco leaf and tuba root caused feeding reduction of FAW as much as 12.30% and 21.53%, respectively. This showed that these insecticides have potential to be used in the field by farmers because of its has simple preparation method.