Effectiveness of vermicompost with additives of various botanical pesticides in controlling Plutella xylostella and their effects on the yield of cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.var. Capitata)

Abstract

The larva of Plutella xylostella causes damage to cruciferous plants by feeding the tissue between the leaf surfaces. To increase the production of organic cabbage vegetables, it is necessary to develop botanical pesticides. This study aims to describe the effect of vermicompost with additives of various botanical pesticides on the intensity of the moth diamondback attack and cabbage yield. The pot experiment employed randomized block design, with six treatments including plants: (1) without vermicompost and pesticide (control), (2) with synthetic pesticide application (SP), (3) with the application of the mixture of vermicompost and neem (V+N), (4) with the application of the mixture of vermicompost and papaya (V+P), (5) with the application of the mixture of vermicompost and marigolds leaves (V+M), (6) with the application of a mixture of vermicompost and soursop leaves (V+S). Each treatment has five replications and three pot samples per replication. The results showed that at the end observation of attack intensity of P. xylostella, treating cabbage with marigold leaves (20.26%) and soursop leaves (17.50%) had the same effectiveness with synthetic pesticide (21.86%) and significantly different with the other treatments (P < 0.05) by intensity attack of 29.69% (neem leaves) and 24.31% (papaya leaves). Treating cabbage with either soursop leaves or marigold leaves increases the size of the cabbage head, marketable yield, fresh weight and dry weight of biomass total and significantly different from the other treatments (P< 0.05). The results suggest that application of vermicompost with botanical pesticide additives is effective to control P. xylostella in the production of organic vegetables.