Economic Viability of Chilli Pepper and Neem Seed Kernel Powdered Formulations Vis-a-vis Sevin Dust (85%) in the Management of Lepidopterous Stemborers on Sorghum in North Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

A two year field experiment was designed to evaluate the economic viability of Chilli Pepper and Neem Kernel based powdered formulations vis-à-vis Sevin Dust (85%) in controlling stemborer damage on Sorghum variety (KSV4) in 2009 and 2010 using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The botanicals evaluated are Chilli Pepper Powder (CPP), CPP + Finesand (1:1, w/w), Neem Kernel Powder (NKP) and, NKP + Finesand (1:1, w/w). The results shows that pesticides used significantly (p<0.05) reduced stemboring by stemborers. The results also shows that the botanicals significantly (p<0.05) perform better than the synthetic in reducing stemboring. While the grain yield were significantly (p<0.05) higher on the treated plots over the untreated, the results further reveals that there was no significant difference between the botanicals and the synthetic used even though NKP + Finesand gave the overall best yield. The economic analysis also shows that it was profitable and economically viable to use any of the pesticides in controlling stemborers on sorghum since all the pesticides gave a ratio of more than one. However, NKP + Finesand gave the highest cost: benefit ratio of 1:5.76 and 1:5.48 in 2009 and 2010, respectively followed by CPP and Finesand, NKP, CPP while Sevin 85% gave the least cost: benefit ratio of 1:2.48 and 1:2.40 in 2009 and 2010, respectively. While the cost: benefit analysis was strictly based on the cost of plant protection only and did not consider factors such as potential impact on natural enemies/non-targets, the environment, farm workers and consumer safety, the overall results shows that Neem Kernel and Chilli Pepper based botanicals can be useful components of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) of Sorghum Stemborers and may serve as viable alternatives to the synthetics which have been identified to have several environmental and health implications.

Keywords: Cost: Benefit Ratio, Sesamia calamistis,  Botanicals,  Stem Bored, Number of Holes Per Stem  Finesand, Capsicum frutescens (Chilli pepper), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Sevin Dust (85%)