Insect pests incidence of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in the dryland of Kupang District, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Abstract

The presence of insect pests is one of the obstacles in efforts to increase peanut production in Kupang District. This study aimed to evaluate farmers’ knowledge of peanut insect pests and assess their adopted control measures and to identify the types of insect pests and their respective incidence rates in peanut crops. Within each sub-district, two villages were selected on the advice of the local extension agents; five farmers were interviewed using predefined checklists. The checklists were designed to gather information about the farmers’ awareness of various pests affecting their peanut crops and the measures they employed to safeguard their crops. The second part of the study involved examining peanut fields in the chosen locations to assess pest infestation. The results revealed that farmers demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the insect pests frequently linked to peanut cultivation, but the majority of farmers (64.3%) did not try to control insect pests on their peanut plants. Five insect pests were identified on peanut plants: Aphis craccivora, Anoplocnemis phasiana, Aulacophora indica, Chrysodeixis chalcites, and Lamprosema indicata. The incidences of the identified pests varied between 14.1% to 26.8%. Lamprosema indicata exhibited the lowest incidence, while Aphis craccivora had the highest.