Fanindra Prasad Neupane, Narayan bhandari, Rishi Raj Adhikari and Ram Bhandari
Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, khumaltar, Lalitpur.
Himalayan Resource Institute (HIRI) Baneshwor, Kathmandu

DOI

ABSTRACT

Three trials, two in Cauliflower (one off-season during spring and one main season) and one in brinjal were conducted at HIRI Agriculture Farm, Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu in 2004. The objective of these trials was to assess the effectiveness of the following botanicals and other organic products against the pest insects of the above crops: neem (Azadirachta indica) (Multineem @ 2 ml/l of water), tobacco (Nicotiana tobacum) (30 g of dried leaves /l of water), ginger (Zingiber officinale) (70g rhizome/l of water), garlic (Allium sativum) (70g cloves/l of water), turmeric (Curcuma domestica) (30g powder/l of water), mug-wort (Artemisia indica) (200g fresh leaves & shoots/l of water), crofton weed (Eupatorium adenophorum) (200g fresh leaves & shoots/l of water), ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) (200g fresh leaves & shoots/l of water), cow urine (200ml/l of water) and monocrotophos (Monocil- 36EC @ 1 ml/l of water). The treatments at an interval of the week were applied four times to off-season cauliflower, five times to main season cauliflower and 10 times to brinjal. Insect populations and their damages on crops were recorded periodically. Most of the insects of cauliflower including the diamondback moth (DBM) (Plutella xylostella) and the cabbage butterfly (CB) (Pieris brassicae nepalensis) were observed in the off-season cauliflower. Neem, garlic and turmeric reduced the larval populations of DBM and CB by over 50% while tobacco and ginger showed only little effect on them. The treatments did not show any impact on the curd yield of cauliflower. In the main season cauliflower both DBM and CB were absent and other insects had very low populations. Hence the treatments: neem, mug-wort, crofton weede, ageratum, cow urine and monocrotophos could not show an impact on the pest insects as well as on the yield of cauliflower. Neem, ginger, mug-wort, crofton weed, and monocrotophos did not control the damage of the shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis) in brinjal. The infestation on shoots was a high as 20% and on fruits it was 64% by number and 61% by weight. All the infested shoots were dead and the fruits were unfit for human consumption.