RESEARCH ARTICLE

Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 25 (2) August 2013, p. 228-234

EFFICACY OF BAFOG-1 (S), FORMULATED LOCAL Bacillus thuringiensis FOR CONTROLLING BAGWORM, Pteroma pendula (LEPIDOPTERA: PSYCHIDAE)

Mohd NAJIB Ahmad* ; SITI RAMLAH Ahmad Ali* ; MOHAMED MAZMIRA Mohd Masri* ; MOHD BASRI Wahid*

ABSTRACT

A study on the efficacy of Bafog-1 (S), a formulated, local strain of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) applied via fogging was carried out both in the laboratory and the field, against the bagworm species Pteroma pendula. Laboratory assay of Bafog-1 (S) using five different treatments showed that the Bafog-1 (S) at the highest dose of 2.36 x 1012 cfu ml-1 and ratio of Bafog-1 (S):diesel;1:1 (v/v) killed as high as 78.6% P. pendula at seven days after treatment (DAT). In field trials, the effectiveness of Bafog-1 (S) in controlling the bagworm was compared with a commercial Bt product. The field trial was conducted in an estate at Hutan Melintang, Perak, covering a total area of 12 ha. Based on a Student’s t-test, with one-tailed distribution, the total bagworm populations (larvae + pupae) in Bafog-1 (S) and Dipel ES plots were significantly reduced (P<0.05) from 569 bagworms per frond (BPF) and 668 BPF at 0 DAT to 266 BPF and 432 BPF at 14 DAT, respectively. The results indicated that the efficacy of Bafog-1 (S) was comparable to the commercial Bt.

KEYWORDS:


* Malaysian Palm Oil Board,
6, Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi,
43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
E-mail: najib@mpob.gov.my