Mahogany Wood-Waste Vinegar as Larvacide for Spodoptera litura

Abstract

The carbonization of lignocelullosic waste to obtain wood vinegar (WV) was investigated in this work. WV was used as a botanical insecticide against armyworm (Spodoptera litura), which is known as a major pest of soybean crops in Indonesia. This study includes the following: (i) the assessment of potential use of lignocellulosic waste from mahogany wooden-sandal home industry; (ii) the determination of the yield of various components of carbonization process, from each unit of the waste; and (iii) the application of the produced WV as larvicide on S. litura larvae in the laboratory. The experiments were arranged in a completely randomized design, and the observed variables included mortality and anti-feedant activity of S. litura larvae. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance with Duncan’s multiple differences test. The results showed that the amount of wood waste generated at wooden-sandal craftsman level was 16.12%. Carbonization of 1,000 g of the wood waste yielded WV, tar, bio-oil, and char in quantities of 442.68 g, 36.5 g, 4.04 g, and 251 g, respectively. The treatment using WV concentration of 1.5% to 3.0% showed low larvacidal action, which gave LC50 value of 12.82%, but it had adequate anti-feedant activity.