Field Evaluation of Levo Botanical Insecticide for the Management of Insect Pests of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.)

Renewed interest in the use of botanical insecticides for the management of insect pests necessitated field experiments to be carried out during the major and minor cropping seasons in 2013 at the plantation crops section of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana to evaluate the insecticidal potency of Levo botanical insecticide for the management of insect pests of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). The study comprised the following treatments: (i) Levo (a.i. Oxymatrine) at 1.68 ml /0.5 litre water and (ii) Lambda-super (a.i. Lambda-cyhalothrin) (a check) at 1.5 ml /0.5 litre water; an untreated control (water only) was also maintained. Leuninodes orbonalis (Guen), Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), Aphis gossypii (Glover), and Eublemma olivacea (Walker) were collected on eggplant in the study area. Significant differences (PË‚0.5) were observed among the treatments with respect to the abundance of A. gosspyii, L. orbonalis, B. tabaci and E. olivacea on eggplant during the major season. Similar results were obtained in the minor season. Significantly higher yields were obtained from the insecticide-treated eggplant plots. The study showed that Levo was as effective as Lambda super and can be a substitute in the management of insect pests of eggplant.