International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)
Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2019, pp.396–402, Article ID: IJCIET_10_01_037
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=10&IType=1
ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316
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POPULATION AND ATTACK INTENSITY OF
SPODOPTERA EXIGUA ON LEAF ONION
PLANTS IN TANAH MIRING DISTRICT OF
MERAUKE
Jefri Sembiring and Diana Sri Susanti
Lecturer of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture,
Universitas Musamus, Merauke, Indonesia
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to determine the population and percentage of larval attacks S.
exigua on leaf onion plants. This research was conducted for two months. Sampling
was done by directly observing each plant at a predetermined location three times at
intervals of two weeks. Based on the results of the study it can be concluded that the
average population of S. exigua larvae was highest in leaf onion plants in Yaba Maru
0.144 heads/clump and the lowest was Waninggap Miraf 0.039 tail/clump. While the
average attack rate of S. exigua larvae was highest in leaf onion plants at location 4
7.639% and lowest at Waninggap Miraf 3.14%.
Keywords: larva, S. exigua, leaf onion.
Cite this Article: Jefri Sembiring and Diana Sri Susanti, Population and Attack
Intensity of Spodoptera Exigua On Leaf Onion Plants In Tanah Miring District of
Merauke, International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), 10 (1),
2019, pp. 396-402
http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=10&IType=1
INTRODUCTION
Onion leaves are vegetable plants that have the potential to be developed in Merauke
Regency, Papua Province. Onion Allium spp included in family Alliaceae is one type of
vegetable that is commonly used as a food flavoring. Leaves can also be cultivated in the
lowlands or uplands up to 2000 m above sea level. Leaves onion plants also have quite
complex problems in maintaining the quality of production. This is caused by plant disturbing
organisms (OPT).
Plant disturbing organisms are one of the important problems in improving agricultural
production processes. Pests and diseases that have not been able to be controlled optimally
resulting in considerable losses in the form of loss of yield, quality degradation which
automatically directly reduces farmer income. Increasing productivity of scallion plants can
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Population and Attack Intensity of Spodoptera Exigua On Leaf Onion Plants In Tanah Miring District
of Merauke
be done by extensification and intensification, but there are various obstacles that must be
faced. One of the obstacles to increasing the productivity of leek is the presence of plant pest
organisms (OPT). Plant disturbing organisms are any organisms that can interfere with plant
growth and development, so that plants become damaged, their growth is hampered, and or
die (Sembel, 2011). In cultivating leaf onions, various types of pests and diseases that can
attack can be found, one of which is Spodoptera spp., whose spread covers almost the entire
hemisphere except South America. In Indonesia, Spodoptera spp. is one of the important pests
that often causes crop failure in the onion plant. Because these pests generally only cause
severe damage to the onion plants, these pests are often called onion worms. One species of
which can reduce the yield of leaf onion is S.exigua, which is one type of armyworm which is
a major obstacle in the cultivation of leaf onion. Losses caused by attacksS. exigua the leaf
onion is diverse. According to Moekasan at al., (2013) the density of three and five larvae of
S. exigua plant clumps can cause yield loss of 32 and 42% respectively because Spodoptera
sp is the main pest in leaf onion plants that attack throughout the year both the rainy season or
season dry.
In the onion plantations, especially in the Tanah Miring District of Merauke Regency,
these pests were found. The pattern of polyculture plantations in the Tanah Miring District
that plants horticulture causes these insects to continue to exist in the field. Many of the onion
farmers feel the effects of the S. exigua attack which directly decreases the production of
onion in the field. Based on these matters, it is necessary to conduct research on the existence
of these pests in the field which includes population and percentage of S. exigua pests on leaf
onion plants. This study aims to determine the population and attack percentage of S. exigua
larvae on leaf onion plants in Tanah Miring District, Merauke Regency, Papua Province. It is
hoped that this study can provide information on the population and attack percentage of S.
exigua larvae on leaf onion plants, so that it can be a reference for farmers to control pests
more efficiently.
METHODOLOGY
The research was conducted on leaf onion plantations in the village of Isanombias,
Waninggap Miraf, Waninggap Say, Yaba Maru, Tanah Miring District. Then it was continued
at the Musamus University Faculty of Agriculture's Agrotechnology Laboratory. The research
was conducted for two months starting from October-November 2018. The materials and
tools used in this study were leaf onion plants, 70% alcohol, collection bottles, thermometer,
tweezers, small brushes, meters, bamboo stakes, knives, hand counters, cameras and writing
instruments. The study used a survey method on leaf onion plantations in Tanah Miring
District in the village of Isanombias, Waninggap Miraf, Waninggap Say, Yaba Maru, Tanah
Miring District
Sampling was carried out using a diagonal slice method, namely by setting five sub-plots
with a size of 1 x 1.5 m on a plant area measuring 25 x 40 m which was observed in 1 sub plot
consisting of 80 clusters. Sampling is done by directly observing each plant at a
predetermined location three times at intervals of two weeks (Ludang and Mangkoedihardjo,
2009; Mangkoedihardjo, 2007). Some useful methods (Djamali and Betaubun, 2018; Djamali
et al., 2018; Nurcholis and Muchlis, 2018; Suryaningsih et al., 2018; Untari and Mekiuw,
2018; Welliken and Melmambessy, 2018; Widyantari et al., 2018) were applied. The things
observed in the study are:
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Jefri Sembiring and Diana Sri Susanti
PEST POPULATION
Population observation is done by calculating the number of larvae found based on the
location of collection. To find out the average population of larvae used the following
formula:
P
where
P
n
N
=
n/N
=
=
=
Pest population
The number of larvae found in plants / clumps
Number of clumps observed
ATTACK PERCENTAGE
Observation of the percentage of attacks is carried out by calculating the part of the affected
plant based on the location of the harvest. To find out the average percentage of attacks using
the following formula:
P
where
P
n
N
=
n/N X 100
=
=
=
Attack Percentage
The number of clumps is attacked or damaged
Number of clumps observed
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Pest population
The observation of the pest population of S. exigua in leaf onion plantations in the Tanah
Miring District showed that the insect population had spread in the villages of Tanah Miring
District. The average population of S. exigua in the first week of observation was 0.030
tail/clump, the third week increased to 0.046 head / clump and at the end of the observation
0.081 tail/clump as seen in Table 1.
Table 1. Average population of S. exigua in leaf onion plants in the Tanah Miring District of Merauke
Regency.
Location (Figure 1)
Isanombias
Waninggap Miraf
Waninggap Say
Yaba Maru
Average
0.025
0.028
0.039
0.029
0.030
Population (tail/clump)
0.049
0.039
0.058
0.039
0.046
0.068
0.039
0.074
0.144
0.081
In the table above, it can be seen that the number of insects per clump in the highest first
week in the village was 0.039 tail / clump, Yaba Maru 0.029 tail / clump, Waninggap Miraf
0.028 tail / clump and the lowest at Isanombias 0.025 tail / clump. In the third week the
highest population was highest at location 3 0.0358 clumps, Isanombias 0.049 tails / clump,
Waninggap Say 0.039 tail / clump and the lowest at Yaba Maru 0.039 tail / clump. At the
sixth week the highest population was highest at location 4 0.144 heads / clump, Waninggap
Say 0.074 tail / clump, Isanombias 0.068 tail / clump and the lowest at Waninggap Miraf
0.039 head / clump. Population increases because food is sufficiently available for its
development. In general, S. exigua has other alternative hosts available at the farmer's site.
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Population and Attack Intensity of Spodoptera Exigua On Leaf Onion Plants In Tanah Miring District
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The polycultural farming pattern in Tanah Miring District may reduce economic damage
from S exigua insects on certain plants, but this also has another impact, namely the
availability of continuous hosts. Polyculture that only plants horticulture continuously every
planting season will not break the life cycle of insects but reduces the intensity of attacks on
certain plants, even though there may be one type of plant that is more severely attacked. In
addition, the use of pesticides by the community can reduce the intensity of pests, although
this can cause insect resistance to insecticides.
a
b
Figure 1. (a): Location of leaf onion planting in Tanah Miring District, and (b): symptoms of S. exigua
on the tip of scallion.
Attack Percentage
Based on observations in the field, the larvae of S. exigua attacked the leaves onion plants
with common symptoms of larvae hoisting leaves and making holes on the tips of leaves.
Then the S. exigua larvae will eat the inside of the leaves so that the leaves look transparent
because only the leaf epidermis remains (Figure 1). In severe attacks many leaves are like
broken ends or even base or cut so that it can reduce the number of leaves or crop production.
The percentage of S. exigua in Tanah Miring District can be seen in Table 2.
Table 2. Percentage of S. exigua attack on leaf onion plants in Tanah Miring District, Merauke
Regency.
Location
Isanombias
Waninggap Miraf
Waninggap Say
Yaba Maru
Average
Attack percentage (%)
4.167
2.222
3.472
5.833
3.92
1.389
1.806
2.083
1.528
1.7
4.167
3.194
4.028
7.639
4.76
Based on the results of the first week observation of the percentage of S. exigua attacks on
the highest attack field, there were 2.083% of Waninggap Say, Waninggap Miraf of 1.806%,
Yaba Maru of 1.528% and Isanombias of 1.389%. In the third week's observation, it was seen
that the highest customer was at location 5.833%, Isanombias was 4.167%, Wan lived up to
3.472% and Waninggap Miraf was 2.222%. At the end of the observation, it was seen that the
highest attack on Yaba Maru was 7.639%, Isanombias was 4.167%, and it was said to be
4.028%, and it remained Waninggap Miraf 3.195%. The low population at the Isanombias
and Waninggap Miraf villages is most likely due to environmental conditions. It can be seen
with temperatures reaching 32 0C-34 0C and soil conditions that look dry and only produce a
number of tillers from the onion. Soil conditions that have not supported the growth of leaf
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Jefri Sembiring and Diana Sri Susanti
onion plants and high temperatures greatly affect the population of insects. It was seen in
some plants of S. exigua insects weak or even dead during observation during the day.
Rahayu, (2012) states that leaf foliage in plants can be used by a number of insects as a place
of refuge from the sun and or from attacks by natural enemies.
The abundance of food resources is the main supporting factor of the population of S.
exigua at the observation site in Yaba Maru village. The population of S. exigua larvae on leaf
scallion plants is low, because there are other plants around the leaf onion plant that become
other hosts, thereby reducing the level of pest population density in the onion plant. These
plants include shallots, cabbage, mustard greens and tomato plants which are continuously
planted by farmers. Host plants are plants that can meet insect needs, both related to behavior
and with nutritional needs. The relationship between host and insect is a series of interaction
processes including the mechanism of selecting a host plant, the use of the host plant as a food
source and shelter and nesting place (Mello et al, 2002). Insects breed faster in suitable host
plants and conversely the development becomes slow in host plants that are less suitable. The
difference in the level of conformity can occur in plants that are different in their species and
in the same plants as their species (Herlinda et al., 2004). The results of the study by
Nikmatur et al. (2015) on monoculture planting treatment occurred in the explosion of pests,
random polyculture treatment reduced the population of important pests while in the treatment
of polyculture alternating hose can reduce several types of pests.
S. exigua pest insects damage during the larval stage by eating leaves. Usually in large or
large numbers these larvae move together from plants that have been eaten by leaves to other
plants. This pest will attack leaves that have been eaten up and will move to leaves that are
still intact. In the case of polyculture, the availability of sufficient food for larvae to sustain
their life resulted in the S. exigua cycle never being broken even though the S. exigua
population remained within the economic threshold. At locations where extreme weather is
observed and spraying with insecticides is very influential on the population of insect pests.
Many have found S. exigua larvae which die near the former hole with a broken or dry body
part. The results of interviews with farmers at the research location, that in suppressing pest
populations, farmers sprayed plants with insecticides, namely four times during the planting
period.
Excessive use of pesticides can also make pesticides that were sensitive to pesticides
become resistant to pesticides because the use of pesticides that are not in accordance with the
dosage and rules causes many agricultural pests to become resistant and difficult to control
with pesticides. This excessive use of pesticides makes natural enemies and pests killed so
that there are no more capable of suppressing the population of pests naturally. Unwise use of
chemical pesticides on onion plants can cause pollution to the environment which has a
negative effect on human health (Setyono, 2009).
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b
a
Figure 2. (a): Condition of S. exigua due to hot environmental conditions and exposure to pesticides,
and (b): Pest of S. exigua in onion plants.
According to Untung (1994) the use of pesticides should not be carried out at any time
routinely or scheduled, but only at certain times, namely when the population or intensity of
pest attacks reaches a limit that requires control in a manner called the control threshold. If at
that time the control is not carried out, pest attacks can result in losses. As long as the
population or intensity of pest attacks is still below the control threshold, pesticides do not
need to be used. In such circumstances the existence of the pest can still be controlled
naturally by its natural enemies and is not economically detrimental. But many farmers in
research locations spray their plants according to their own desires, which also causes many
natural enemies to die due to the intensity of spraying which is quite high with a combination
of insecticides.
CONCLUSION
Based on the results of the study it can be concluded that the average population of S. exigua
larvae was highest in leaf onion plants in Yaba Maru 0.144 heads / clump and the lowest was
Waninggap Miraf of 0.039 tail / clump. While the average attack rate of S. exigua larvae was
highest in leaf onion plants at location 4 7.639% and lowest at Waninggap Miraf 3.194%.
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