Toxicity of selected insecticides on late stage instar of bagworm, Metisa plana

Abstract

Metisa plana is a significant oil palm pest in South East Asia and is well recognized for its devastating impact on oil palms in Malaysia. Due to the high intensity of the Metisa plana assault on oil palm plantation in the peninsular, Malaysia. The use of insecticides has become a famous means of controlling Metisa plana infestation when the economic threshold is reached. Three selected insecticides are Cypermethrin, Flubendiamide and Bacillus thuringiensis tested for their toxicity toward Metisa plana. Late stage instar of Metisa plana were collected at Felda Serting Hilir 4, Bahau to be tested on three different pesticide including one control treatment. For each treatment, five replications were exposed to the selected chemical by using leaf dip bioassay method. The mortality of Metisa plana were recorded for eight consecutive days. Result showed that both Cypermethrin and Flubendiamide can achieve 100% mortality rate within four days while it takes eight days for Bacillus thuringiensis and control treatment. Further study should be done in the field to obtain more accurate results when exposed to the natural conditions and environment.