Use of Light Trap for Controlling Cabbage Pests

Abstract

Cabbage leaf caterpillars (Plutella xylostella L.) and cabbage head caterpillars (Crocidolomia binotalis Zell.) are key pests of cabbage in Indonesia. Crop loss due to both pests can reach as high as 50-100%. In general, the pests control done by the farmers is still based on the use of insecticides. Therefore, it is necessary to identify another method that is environmentally friendly. This study aimed at determining the effectiveness of the light trap in controlling P. xylostella and C. binotalis. The experiment was conducted at the Margahayu Experimental Garden, the Indonesian Vegetable Research Institute in Lembang (1,250 m asl.), from March to July 2018. The experiment was designed using the paired comparison with two treatments. The treatments tested were: (A) using light traps + control threshold and (B) without light traps + sprayed with insecticide twice a week. Each treatment consisted of six replications. The results showed that the use of light traps was able to suppress the population of P. xylostella and S. litura larvae and egg masses of C. binotalis. It also reduced the frequency of insecticide spray by 81.82% and insecticide costs by 77.61 %. Cabbage cultivation using a light trap could maintain cabbage yield equivalent to yield on the treatment used insecticides twice a week and gave more profitable than insecticide spray twice a week. Therefore, the use of a light trap for controlling lepidopteran pests in cabbage cultivation was properly adopted.