Effectiveness of mahkota dewa (Phaleria macrocarpa) and bengkuang (Pachyrhizus erosus) seed extracts for controlling fruit pest in cocoa

Abstract

Nugrahaeni F, Wijayanti R, Notosandjojo YVP. 2013. Effectiveness of mahkota dewa (Phaleria macrocarpa) and bengkuang (Pachyrhizus erosus) seed extracts for controlling fruit pest in cocoa. Biofarmasi 11: 7-12. Cocoa is one plantation commodity whose role is quite important for the national economy. Nevertheless, the agribusiness of cocoa in Indonesia still had many complex problems, such as a low productivity that caused by pest and disease. Conopomorpha cramerella, or known in Indonesia as Cocoa Pod Borer (CPB), is one of the major pests of the most destructive pest in cocoa. Fruit-sucking pest of Helopeltis antonii is a major obstacle for the cultivation of cocoa in addition to CPB in Indonesia. The using of chemical pesticides can cause negative impacts for human, such as pest resistance, toxicity and environmental pollution. This study was to determine the effect of mahkota dewa and bengkuang seed extracts against C. cramerella (CPB) and Helopeltis antonii. The research was conducted in September 2010 until January 2011 in the cocoa plantation of Wakah Village, Ngrambe Subdistrict, Ngawi. The research included the making of mahkota dewa and bengkuang seed extracts, the sample selection, and the testing of sampel. The observed variabel of research included the symptoms of CPB attack, the percentage of cocoa beans damage caused by CPB, the symptoms of H. antonii attack, the percentage of fruit damage, the number of nymph and imago of H. antonii and other pests. The observation data were analyzed descriptively and by t-test. The results showed that mahkota dewa and bengkuang seed extracts had no significant effect on the CPB and Helopeltis antonii attack. The damage of cocoa pods largely caused by black pod disease of Phytophthora palmivora.