EFFICACY OF BIOPESTICIDES AGAINST SUCKING PESTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON BITTER GOURD (MOMORDICA CHARANTIA L.) YIELD

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Institute, Tarnab, Peshawar, Pakistan, during 2017–2018 to evaluate the effectiveness of different botanical extracts in regulating the population dynamics of major sucking pests, including aphids, whiteflies, and thrips, in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). The experiment was arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and consisted of five treatments: cypermethrin, Azadirachta indica (neem) extract, Parthenium hysterophorus extract, Eucalyptus globulus extract, and an untreated control.

The results demonstrated that both synthetic insecticide and botanical extracts significantly reduced pest populations and improved crop productivity. The lowest mean populations of aphids (0.88/leaf), whiteflies (0.90/leaf), and thrips (0.93/leaf) were recorded in cypermethrin-treated plots, followed by neem extract. In contrast, untreated control plots exhibited the highest pest infestations, with mean populations of 5.60 aphids/leaf, 8.89 whiteflies/leaf, and 5.96 thrips/leaf. Cypermethrin treatment produced the maximum fruit number (22.79 fruits per plant) and yield (24.80 kg per treatment), followed by neem extract, whereas the control treatment recorded the lowest yield (10.81 kg per treatment).

Among the tested botanical treatments, neem extract showed the highest effectiveness in suppressing sucking pest populations and enhancing yield compared with Eucalyptus and Parthenium extracts. These findings suggest that neem-based botanical formulations have considerable potential as an important component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs for bitter gourd production, offering an environmentally sustainable approach for reducing reliance on synthetic insecticides