1 EFFICACYEVALUATION OF VARYING LEVELS OF AICON: AN ORGANIC PESTICIDE AGAINST MELON FRUIT FLY, BactroceracucurbitaeCoquillett, IN BITTER GUORD, Momordicacharantia L. PRODUCTION Batay-an, E.H 1 ., Morales, Y 2 , zndMullanida A. 2 1 Sr. Consultant, PhilRiceAgusan, RTRomualdez, Agusandel Norte 2 Forrmer students, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City ABSTRACT A field experiment was conducted at the organic agriculture area of Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City from November 2014 to February 2015 to evaluate the efficacy of varying levels of Aicon on pest population and percent fruit damage caused by Melon fruit fly, B. cucurbitaeCoquillett in ampalaya production and determine the agronomic and yield characteristics of ampalaya as influenced by the application of varying levels of Aicon. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used in the study with six treatments and three replications. The treatments comprised 4 levels ofAicon (3 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml and 15 ml per liter water), including the untreated control and insecticide as standard check treatment for comparison. Result showed that the application of Aicon at 15 ml per liter of water significantly reduced the percent damage fruits of ampalaya caused by melon fruit fly with 23.00% or a percent damage reduction of 43.16% as compared with the untreated control, however, it was comparable with plots treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter of water and the insecticide treated plots. Similarly, plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water significantly produced the highest number of fruits per hill but not significantly different with the insecticide treated plots and those plots treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter of water, respectively. In terms of fruit yield, it was very apparent that the plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water significantly produced the highest fruit yield of 3,832.22 kg per ha or a yield increase of 42.94% over the untreated control treatment although it was comparable to plots treated with insecticide and plots treated with Aicon at 10 ml per liter of water. The highest fruit yield obtained in plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water was due to 43% increased in fruit weight, 23% increased in fruit length and and 26% increased in fruit diameter with 55% reduction in pest population over the untreated control treatment. The result implies that the application of Aicon at 15 ml per liter of water can be an alternative to chemical control in the management of B. cucurbitae in ampalaya production to obtain higher fruit yield with a healthy environment. Keywords: Bitter guord, melon fruit fly, percent damage fruits, pest population fruit yield
Transcript
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EFFICACYEVALUATION OF VARYING LEVELS OF AICON: AN ORGANIC PESTICIDE AGAINST MELON FRUIT FLY, BactroceracucurbitaeCoquillett,
2Forrmer students, Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City
ABSTRACT
A field experiment was conducted at the organic agriculture area of Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City from November 2014 to February 2015 to evaluate the efficacy of varying levels of Aicon on pest population and percent fruit damage caused by Melon fruit fly, B. cucurbitaeCoquillett in ampalaya production and determine the agronomic and yield characteristics of ampalaya as influenced by the application of varying levels of Aicon. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used in the study with six treatments and three replications. The treatments comprised 4 levels ofAicon (3 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml and 15 ml per liter water), including the untreated control and insecticide as standard check treatment for comparison. Result showed that the application of Aicon at 15 ml per liter of water significantly reduced the percent damage fruits of ampalaya caused by melon fruit fly with 23.00% or a percent damage reduction of 43.16% as compared with the untreated control, however, it was comparable with plots treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter of water and the insecticide treated plots. Similarly, plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water significantly produced the highest number of fruits per hill but not significantly different with the insecticide treated plots and those plots treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter of water, respectively. In terms of fruit yield, it was very apparent that the plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water significantly produced the highest fruit yield of 3,832.22 kg per ha or a yield increase of 42.94% over the untreated control treatment although it was comparable to plots treated with insecticide and plots treated with Aicon at 10 ml per liter of water. The highest fruit yield obtained in plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water was due to 43% increased in fruit weight, 23% increased in fruit length and and 26% increased in fruit diameter with 55% reduction in pest population over the untreated control treatment. The result implies that the application of Aicon at 15 ml per liter of water can be an alternative to chemical control in the management of B. cucurbitae in ampalaya production to obtain higher fruit yield with a healthy environment.
Keywords: Bitter guord, melon fruit fly, percent damage fruits, pest population
fruit yield
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INTRODUCTION
Importance and Nature of the study Ampalaya, Momordicacharantia L., known as bitter gourd, belongs to the
Family Cucurbitaceae. It is also known aspariain Ilocano and Indonesia, palia in
Bisaya, periain Malaysia and Blasam pear in English. Ampalaya is a crawling
vine that grows well in tropical countries particularly in the Philippines and can
grow as high as 5 meters (DA-BPI 2013).
Ampalaya is mostly cultivated, although wild forms can be
found.Ampalayais rich in iron, potassium, beta-carotene, high in vitamins and an
excellent source of iron and calcium. It has a bitter taste due to the presence of
Momordicin which helps in the treatment of Diabetes, Arthritis. Rheumatism,
Asthma, Warts, Abscesses and Ulcer.Ampalaya is one of the most expensive
commercial and backyard fruit vegetables in the country today. Farmers produce
vegetable crops which is particularly perishable in nature and prone to insect
pest infestation. This plant requires an abundant moisture for vegetative and
reproductive development to maintain a good crop stand in any season.
However, several problems were encounteredby farmer growers planting
cucurbits particularly insect pests and diseases which causes tremendous yield
reduction to the crop. The most destructive major pest of ampalaya is the melon
fruit fly, Bactroceracucurbitae. (Coquillett). In Southeast Asia and Pacific Region,
plant species belonging to Cucurbitaceae are the common hosts of the melon
fruit fly (Allwood et al. 1999). The host species recorded were bitter gourd (M.
Bitter gourd is similar in nutritional value to other cucurbits. It is higher in
foliate and Vitamin C. The vine tips are in excellent source of Vitamin A. It is
popularly known to treat diabetes. The young leaves and shoots of Makiling
variety were reported to have lowered the blood sugar level of people with type 2
diabetes mellitus (DOST-PCARRD 2009). At present, ampalaya tablets and tea
are marketed as food supplement. Table 1 shows the nutrients that can be found
in 100 grams of ampalaya.
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Table 1. 100 grams of bitter gourd comprises the following nutrients
Properties Amount Properties Amount
Calcium 19 mg Sodium 5 mg Selentum 0.2 mcg Iron 0.40 mg Magnesium 17 mg Copper 0.34 mg Manganese 0.059 mg Dietary Fiber 3 g Zinc 0.8 mg Foliate 72 mcg Panthothenic acid 0.212 mcg Protein 1 g Total Carbohydrate 4 g
Benefits from Ampalaya
Ayushueveda (2009) reported that bitter gourd have been found to have
great medicinal value. It is very good blood purifier. It helps to treat blood
disorder such as blood boils and itching due to Toxemia. The juice had a good
effect on cholera patients and help to treat the disease. It is said to have antidote,
antipyretic tonic, appetizing anti-billous and laxative properties.
Major Insect Pests of Ampalaya
In the Philippines, cucurbits are the hosts of melon fly,
Bactroceracucurbitae (Coquillett). However, farmers are not certain about actual
pest infestation levels intheirfields, promptingthem to overuse pesticides. B.
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cucurbitae is one of the world’s most serious fruitfly pests particularly on
cucurbits.
In Papua, New Guinea and Solomon Islands, B. cucurbitae infested and
destroyed 90-95% of bitter gourd fruits and 60-87% of pumpkins (Hollingsworth
et al. 1997 and Wong et al. 1989). In Southeast Asia and Pacific Region, plant
species belonging to Cucurbitaceae are the common hosts of the melon fruit fly
(Allwood et al. 1999). The host species recorded were bitter gourd (M. charantia),
water melon (Citrulluslanatus) and many other species of cucurbits.
Truong et al. (2004) found out that the melon fly Bactroceracucurbitae
(Coquillett) (Diptera:Tephritidae) and Diaphaniaindica (Saunders) were the major
pests observed on bitter gourd. July and August plantings gave the highest
production (20 t/ha) and best quality fruits but have high pest population. During
the peak of production from October to November, Methyl Eugenol (ME) trap was
used to determine Melon fly infestation. Catch of 30 flies/trap was a good
predictor of severe infestation. However, when bitter gourd was off-season, the
ME trap was not able to attract the melon fly but was very effective in monitoring
B. philippinensisBeven and B. occipitalis (Bezzi). In contrast, the sex pheromone
sticky trap was more effective and specific tool for monitoring B. cucurbitae
throughout the year. Infestation of D. indica began early when fruits were about 2
inches long. Damaged young fruits become distorted and stopped developing.
Pest Management of Ampalaya
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Adoption of pre-harvest management practices is important in reducing
direct losses. Two common mechanical methods of control were wrapping
developing fruit with a protective paper covering and the use of baited traps
(Allwoodabd Drew 1997). The use of protective covering is more effective but
time consuming and more costly compared to the use of traps. In spite of its cost
protective paper coverings are still used to a certain extent largely by home
gardeners. Baited traps are also used to kill adults. Some farmers perceive the
actual use of Methyl Eugenol (ME) as a control measure but not as a tool for
monitoring melon fly abundance. Of most importance Is field sanitation
particularly the destruction of all unmarketable and infested fruits which is
effective in reducing fruitfly population in the field but seldom done.
Net bagging of fruits was a better alternative management strategy
against melon fruitfly which resulted in 95% marketable fruit yield, reduced
pesticide use and kept weed vegetation under bitter gourd favorable for
habitation of predators and parasitoids of rice and no-rice pests even up to three
months after rice harvest. The use of white net bags to protect bitter gourd fruits
was found to be economical, easy and a better management strategy than
regular insecticide application. Farmers can get more sustainable profit from rice-
bitter gourd cropping system using the environment-friendly net bagging
technique, supplemented with minimal insecticide application. Hence, intensive
campaign for the adoption of net bagging of bitter gourd fruit to reduce production
cost, minimize health hazards due to insecticide application and increase
productivity is urgently needed and strongly recommended (Truong et al, 2004).
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Biological control was found effective in bringing down the population of
fruit flies, the most efficient parasite attacking the larvae of the melon fly was
Opiusfletcheri (Silvestri) killing 20-40% of fruit fly larvae(Bess et al. 1961).
Several chemical control methods have been used for the melon fly.
These include the following: 1) protein baits to lure and kill females in
combination with good sanitation practices, 2) modified steiner trap with cue lure
(cl) and malathion or dichlorvos for quarantine surveillance and regular host fruit
surveys (Nasiruddin et al. 2002), and 3) tank-mixed insecticide applied 2-3 times
a week but insect infestation still remains high (20-40%)
Roguel and Malasa (2002) reportedthat most farmers applied tank-mixed
pesticides 2-3 times a week for protection of their crops particularly eggplant
(Solanummelongena L.) and bitter gourd (Momordicacharantia L.) without
considering pest infestation level.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Cultural Management of Ampalaya a.Choosing a variety Numerous hybrid and open-pollinated varieties are available. Sta. Rita
hybrid strain was used in the experiment. This variety produced higher yield and
matured in 60-70 days. It produces a fruit length of 20-35 cm and the fruits have
thicker flesh.
b. Land Preparation
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Good soil preparation was very important in ampalaya production. The
field was prepared well by plowing and harrowing twice to remove weeds and
other plant debris in the experimental field. Furrows were made at a distance of
one meter before planting.
c. Transplanting
Before transplanting the seedlings in the experimental field, the seeds of
ampalaya were sown in seedling tray at least one seed per hole in a mixture of 2
parts garden soil and one part compost then water it slightly. One week after
sowing (WAS), it was applied with starter solution by mixing one tbsp. of urea
(46-0-0) dissolved in one gal. of water. To strengthen the seedlings, one week
before transplanting, the seedlings were exposed to sunlight. then transplanted
at 3 WAS in the afternoon to prevent wilting of the seedlings.
d. Trellising
Trellis were installed in the experimental field after planting using bamboo
pole or wood and supported with tie-wire horizontally. Ampalaya grows best with
overhead trellis about 6 feet high. It grows fast and vines elongate rapidly within
two weeks after planting. Trellising increased fruit yield and size and facilitated
spraying and harvesting.
e. Vine Training and Pruning
The vines on the vertical trellis were trained regularly by tying the vines to
the trellis. Lateral vine may be pruned every 4-5 days leaving only the main stem.
Initial pruning was done one month after planting or when lateral vines appeared.
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f. Weed Management
Hand weeding was done whenever weeds appeared on the different
treatment plots. The plots were maintained weed-free throughout the duration of
the experiment.
g. Harvesting
Harvesting started at 45 to 50 days after planting. It was done twice a
week. Harvest early in the morning to protect harvested fruits against rain, sun
and mechanical damage. Harvested fruits were sorted according to marketable
and non-marketable fruits.
Experimental Design
The experiment was laid out in aRandomized Complete Block Design
(RCBD) with 6 treatments and three replications. The treatments were as
follows:
T1 – Untreated Control
T2 – Plots applied with 3 mlAicon per liter of water
T3 – Plots applied with 5 ml Aiconper liter of water
T4 – Plots applied with 10 ml Aiconper liter of water
T5 – Plots applied with 15 mlAicon per liter of water
T6 – Plots applied with insecticide (Methomyl-standard check)
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Fig. 1.FIELD LAYOUT
2m
3m
Application of the different treatments The different plots were sprayed with varying levels of Aicon as specified
on the different treatments. Spraying was started at two weeks after transplanting
and repeated weekly thereafter until one week before harve3st. Treatment 6
R1T5
1m
R1T1
1m
R1T3
1m
R1T2
1m
R1T4
1m
R1T6
1 m
R2T4
R1T3 R2T5 R2T6 R2T1 R2T2
1 m
R3T2
R3T6 R3T1 R3T4 R3T5 R3T3
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was sprayed with insecticide (Methomyl) at manufacturers’ recommended rate
and time of application.
Data gathered:
1. Insect pests population – Number of insect pest per ten hills was
counted starting two weeks after transplanting and repeated weekly
thereafter until a week before harvest per plot using visual count.
2. Percent damage fruits –At least 10 hills were sampled per plot by
counting the total number of damage fruits per hill over the total number
of damaged and undamaged fruits per hill then multiplied by 100.
Number of damage fruits/hill
% damage fruits = ------------------------------------------- X 100 Total number of damaged and undamaged fruits per hill
3. Agronomic Parameters
a. Number of fruits per hill – the total number of fruits per hill was
counted at least 5 plants per plot randomlyselected.
4.Yield Parameters
a. Fruit length (cm) – At least 10 fruits per plot were selected and
measured using a ruler. Collected data was recorded.
b. Fruit diameter (cm) – The same 10 fruits per plot wereused and
measured using a caliper
c. Fruit weight (g) - The same 10 fruits per plot werealso used and
weighed using a digital weighing scale.
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4. Yield per plot (g) – Yield per plot was computed by summing up the
total fruit weight per plot and converted to kg/ha using the formula
below:
Yield per plot (g) 10,000 m2 Yield (kg/ha) = ---------------------------- x ----------------------------- 1000 g/kg area harvested (m2)
Statistical Analysis
All the data gathered were statistically analyzed using STATA and
subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in RCBD. Significant differences
among treatment means wascompared usingTukeys’ Test at 5% level of
significance.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Effect of varying levels of Aicon on percent damagefruits of ampalaya
Table 2 shows the percent damage fruits of .ampalaya caused by melon
fruit fly as affected by the application of varying levels of Aicon Comparable
effects was observed in plots treated with Aicon at the rate of 5 ml, 10 ml and 15
ml per liter of water with 35.74%, 26.12% and 23.00%, which was also
comparable with plots treated with insecticide with 23.43%. although percent
damage fruits was lowest in plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water with
23.00% damage fruits.. The highest percent damage fruits caused by melon fruit
fly was obtained in the untreated control treatment which had 40.47%. The result
implies that the application of 5 ml – 15 ml Aicon per liter of water were effective
in the reduction of fruit damage caused by melon fruit fly, Bactroceracucurbitae
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which can be an alternative to chemical control. Moreover, percent reduction in
fruit fly damage in plots treated with 5 ml, 10 ml and 15 ml Aicon per liter of water
ranged from 11.69 – 43.16% as compared with the untreated control, although,
highest damage reduction of 43.16% was observed in plots treated with 15 ml
Aicon per liter of water over the untreated control.
Table 2.Percent damage fruits and damage reduction inampalaya as influenced
by the application of varying levels of Aicon, Caraga State University, November 2014 to February 2015
TREATMENTS DamageFruits1 Damage Reduction (%) (%)
Untreated control 40.47 b -- 3 ml Aicon per liter of water 38.83 b 4.05 5 ml Aicon per liter of water 35.75 ab 11.69 10 ml Aicon per liter of water 26.12 ab 35.46 15 ml Aicon per liter of water 23.00 a 43.16 Insecticide (Methomyl) 23.43 a 42.11 1Average of 3 replications. In a column, means followed by the same letter are Not significantly different at 5% level by Tukeys Test
Effect of varying levels of Aicon on pest population
Figure 2 presents the effect of varying levels of Aicon on pest population.
Result revealed that plots treated with Aicon at 15 ml per liter of water obtained
the lowest pest population density with 9.28 individuals per hill. However, it was
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not significantly different from plots treated with 10 ml, 5 ml and 3 ml of Aicon
per liter of water including the insecticide treated plots with 10.78, 13.28, 13.83
and 12.22 individuals per hill, respectively. The untreated control plots obtained
the highest pestpopulation densitywith 20.50 individuals per hill but not
significant with those plots treated with 3 ml, 5 ml and insecticide treated plots.
The result implies that the application of Aicon at 10 ml and 15 ml per liter of
water against the population of pest in ampalaya was significantly reduced over
the untreated control and comparable with the insecticide treated plots.
According to Ahcil Laboratories Inc. which was the manufacturer of Aicon with
chemical Engr. Zaballero as the inventor of the product.Aicon is a botanical
materials extracted from neem leaves and bark with Azadirachtin as the active
ingredients. It exhibits various behavioral responses such as anti-feedant,
feeding deterrent, repellent and oviposition deterrentabd effective against foliage
feeders or defoliators. The insect pests observed associated with ampalaya from
vegetative stage to fruiting stage were aphids, cutworms, leaf folders, hoppers,
and fruit flies. Among the diseases of ampalaya, it was observed that bacterial
wilt was the most damaging disease observed during the duration of the study.
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Figure 2.Pest population density per hill as influenced by the application of varying levels of Aicon, Caraga State University, Ampayon,
Butuan City, November 2014 to February 2015. Bars having the same letter are not significantly different at 5% level by Tukeys Test
Effect of varying levels of Aicon on agronomic characters of ampalaya
Number of fruits per hill
Figure 3 shows the number of ampalaya fruits per hill as influenced by the
application of the varying levels of Aicon. Plots treated with 15 ml per liter of
water produced the highest number of fruits of ampalaya per hill with 14.66 fruits
although it was comparable with plots treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter of water
with 11.00 fruits per hill and also comparable from those plots treated with
insecticides with 13.00 fruits per hill. The lowest number of fruits was observed in
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the untreated control plots with 6.33 fruits per hill. However, it was comparable
with plots treated with Aicon at 3, 5, and 10 ml per liter of water, respectively.
Figure 3. Number of harvested fruits per hill as influenced by the application of varying levels of Aicon, Caraga State University, Ampayon,
Butuan City, November 2014 to February 2015. Bars having the same letter are not significantly different at 5% level by Tukeys Test
Effect of varying levels of Aicon on the yield of Ampalaya
The yield of ampalaya in kg per ha as affected by the application of
varying levels of Aicon is presented in Table 3. Significantly higher yield of
ampalaya was obtained in plots treated with Aicon at 15 ml per liter of water with
3,831.33 kg per ha although it was comparable to plots applied with 10 ml Aicon
per liter water and those plots treated with insecticide with yields of 2,971.33 and
2,975.00 kg per ha, respectively. The lowest yield was observed in the untreated
control plots with 2,186.33 kg per ha. However, it did not significantly differ from
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those plots treated with Aicon at 3 ml, 5 ml and 10 ml per liter of water including
the insecticide treated plots. Moreover, it was very apparent that plots treated
with Aicon at 3, 5, 10 and 15 ml per liter of water including the insecticide treated
plots obtained a yield increased ranging from 6.98 – 42.84% over the untreated
control plots although yield increased was highest in plots treated with 15 ml
Aicon per liter of water with 42.94% as compared with the untreated control plots.
The results implied that the application of Aicon at higher concentration of
15 ml per liter of water significantly yielded higher over the untreated control
treatment due to lower pest population (Table 2) and lower percent damage fruits
caused by melon fruit fly (Table 2). Likewise, higher yield was attributed to
heaviest fruit weight, longest fruit length and biggest fruit diameter (Table 4) as
compared with the untreated control.
Table3.Yield ofampalaya(kg/ha) and percent yield increased as influenced by the application of varying levels of Aicon, Caraga State University, November 2014 to February 2015.
TREATMENTS Yield1 Yield Increased (kg/ha) (%)
Untreated control 2186,33 a -- 3 ml Aicon per liter of water 2353.33 a 6.98 5 ml Aicon per liter of water 2630.33 a 16.88 10 ml Aicon per liter of water 2971.33 ab 26.42 15 ml Aicon per liter of water 3831.33 b 42.94 Insecticide (Methomyl) 2975.00 ab 26.51
1Average of 3 replications. In a column, means followed by the same letter are
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Not significantly different at 5% level by Tukeys Test
Effect of varying levels of Aicon on the yield parameters of Ampalaya
Fruit weight of Ampalaya
Table 4 presents the average weight of ampalaya fruit as influenced by
the application of different levels of Aicon. Result showed that the heaviest
weight per fruit of ampalaya was significantly obtained in plots treated with Aicon
at 15 ml per liter of water with 114.94 g per fruit, although it was comparable with
plots treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter of water including the insecticide treated
plots with 89.14 g and 89.25 g per fruit, respectively.
Apparently, the lowest fruit weight was observed in the untreated control
with 65.60 g. However, it was comparable with all the treated plots except those
plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water. The result indicates that the
application of Aicon at 15 ml per liter of water significantly produced the heaviest
weight per fruit of ampalaya over the untreated control treatment with an average
weight increased of 42.93% while 26.41% and 26.50% weight increased were
produced by plots treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter of water and the insecticide
treated plots, respectively (Table 4).
Fruit diameter of ampalaya
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The average diameter of ampalaya fruits as influence3d by the application
of the different levels of Aicon is also presented in Table 4. Bigger fruit diameter
was significantly obtained in plots treated with Aicon at 5, 10 and 15 ml per liter
of water with 3.02, 3.24 and 3.48 cm including the insecticide treated plots with
3.28 cm, although the biggest fruit diameter was observed in plots treated with 15
ml Aicon per liter of water with 3.48 cm. In contrast, the smallest diameter of
ampalaya was observed in the untreated control treatment with 2.59 cm,
although it was comaparable to plots treated with 3 ml Aicon per liter of water.
The result implies that the application of different levels of Aicon at 5, 10 and 15
ml per liter of water significantly produced bigger fruit diameter over the untreated
control but similar effect was noted when compared with the insecticide treaqted
plots (Table 4).
Fruit length of ampalaya
Further shown in Table 4 is the fruit length of ampalaya as influenced by
the application of different levels of Aicon. Significantly longest fruit length was
observed in plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per letter of water with 24 cm.
However, it was comparable with all the different levels of Aicon at 3 ml, 5 ml and
10 ml per liter of water with fruit length ranging from 20.18 – 21.83 cm. It was
also observed that the plots treated with insecticide (21.90 cm) did not differ with
those applied with Aicon at different levels.pt at 15 ml On the contrary, the
shortest fruit length was observed in the untreated control plots with 18,53 cm,
although it was similar over the other treatments except 15 ml Aicon per liter of
water.
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Table 4. Yield parameters of ampalaya as influenced by the application of varying levels of Aicon, Caraga State University, November 2014 to February 2015
YIELD PARAMETERS1 TREATMENTS Fruit length Fruit diameter Fruit weight (cm) (cm) (g)
Untreated control 16.53 a 2.59 b 65.60 a 3 ml Aicon per liter of water 20.16 ab 2.64 b 70.50 a 5 ml Aicon per liter of water 21.03 ab 2.42 a 78.93 a 10 ml Aicon per liter of water 21.85 ab 3.24 a 89.14 ab 15 ml Aicon per liter of water 24.00 b 3.48 a 114.94 b Insecticide (Methomyl) 21.90 ab 3.28 a 89.25 ab
1Average of 3 replications. In a column, means followed by the same letter are Not significantly different at 5% level by Tukeys Test
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
SUMMARY
The result of the study showed that the application of Aicon at15 ml per
liter of water significantly reduced percent damage fruits caused by melon fruit
fly, Bactroceracucurbitae, with 23% or a damage reduction of 43.16% over the
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untreated control although comparable to plots treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter
of water and insecticide treated plots. Likewise, number of fruits per hill was
highest in plots treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water with 15 fruits per hill,
however, it was comparable with the insecticide treated plots and plots treated
with . 10 ml Aicon per liter of water.
Apparently, highest yield of 3,831.33 kg per ha wasobtained in plots
treated with 15 ml Aicon per liter of wateror a yield increased of 42.94% over the
untreated control but similar to the insecticide treated plots and those plots
treated with 10 ml Aicon per liter of water. Higher yield obtained in plots treated
with 15 ml Aicon per liter of water was attributed to 43% heavier fruit weight,
23% longer fruit length and 26% bigger fruit diameter with lower pest population
as compared with the untreated control treatment. However, it was not
significantly different with the insecticide treated plots and plots treated with 10
ml Aicon per liter of water.
CONCLUSION
Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that 15 ml Aicon
per liter of water was the best application rate for the control of melon fruit fly in
ampalaya production because it significantly reduced fruit damage caused by
melon fruit fly resulting in increased fruit yield of ampalaya due to heavier fruit
weight, longer fruit length and bigger fruit diameter with higher number of fruits
per hill and lower pest population over the untreated control. Thus, it can be an
alternative to chemical control against the melon fryuit fly in ampalaya
production.
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RECOMMENDATION
Based on the result of the study, the following recommendations are
drawn:
1. Since the result of the study was very promising, the researchers
recommend the use of Aicon, an organic pesticide against melon fruit fly
at 15 ml per liter of water for ampalaya organic production. However, a
follow-up study should be conducted to verify and validate the previous
findings.
2. Further studies should also be conducted to other crops using Aicon at
varying levels to test their bio-efficacy against major insect pests of other
crops.
LITERATURE CITED
ALLWOOD, A.J., A.CHINAJARIYAWONG, RAI DREW, E.L. HAMACEK, D.L. HANCOCK, C. HENGSAWAD, F.C. JINAPIN, M. JIRASURAT, K.C. KONG, S. KRITSANECPAIBOON, C.T.S. LEONG and S. VIJAYSEGARAN. 1999. Host plant records for fruit flies (Diptera:Tephritidae) in South East Asia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 7, 92p.
ALLWOOD, A.J., and R.A.J. DREW. 1997. Management offruit flies in the
Pacific. ACIAR Proceedings No. 76, 267p. AYUSHUEVEDA. 2009. Food Quad Health and Lifestyle, March 2009. BARBA, R. B. and R. P. TABLIZO. 2014. Organic-based attractant for the
control of fruit fly (Diptera:Tephritidae) infesting ampalaya
26
(MomordicacharantiaL.)Intern. J. Sci, and Tech. Res., Vol. 3(3), pp. 348- 355.
BESS, H.A., R. VANDEN BOSCH and F.B. HARAMOTO. 1961. Fruit fly
parasites and their activities in Hawaii, Proc. Hawaiian Entomol. Soc. 27(3):367-378.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE-BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.2013.
Ampalaya Production Guide.Printed at the Info.Sect., Bureau of Plant Industry, 7p.
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