Potential application of spinetoram as an alternative insecticide for controlling oil palm bagworm Mahasena corbetti

Abstract

Trunk injection of acephate has been a gold standard for controlling the bagworm population in oil palm plantations. Not only poses a detrimental effect on the palm, but the continuous application of acephate also increases the risk of resistance. An efficacy test was conducted to determine the effect of spinetoram as an alternative insecticide against oil palm bagworm Mahasena corbetti. The efficacy test was conducted following a randomized block design using six application concentrations, i.e., 0, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 mg/L (active ingredient [a.i.]) with ten replications. The application used a spraying volume of 400 L per hectare area. Application of acephate at 1.5 g/L (a.i.) was conducted as a comparison. Spinetoram showed a comparable result to acephate in killing M. corbetti. At the lowest concentration, spinetoram caused mortality up to 68.49% three days after application (DAA) which increased to 97.11% at 14 DAA. Overall, spinetoram has great potential to be used as an alternative insecticide to acephate.