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International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences Research Article

Received on: 2021-10-16

Revised on: 2021-10-26

Accepted on: 2021-11-10

Published on: 11/21/2021

  • Moumouni DA and Mahamane LO( 2021).

    Influence of aqueous extracts of neem (Azadirachta indica) against noorda blitealis (r.), A moringa pest in the Sahelian Zone

    . International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 6( 5), 256-260.

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Abstract

Moringa cultivation is growing in importance in Niger. It is cultivated for its leaves eaten in the form of porridge or as a fresh vegetable. It contributes to improving the nutritional quality of the diet of Nigeriens because it is rich in trace elements (mainly calcium, iron and vitamins) and in proteins. Despite its importance; Moringa cultivation is attacked by many insect pests, drastically reducing yields when precautions are not taken. A comparative study of the efficacy of the aqueous extract made from neem seeds and the entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana (Beauverie) on the caterpillars of Noorda blitealis (R.) was carried out in the laboratory. The treatments consisted of 14 replicates each containing 10 larvae of three early stages of development. Only one treatment was carried out on leaves and caterpillars. Data were collected daily for ten days. The analysis showed that the aqueous extract of neem seeds and B. bassiana were comparable to the chemical pesticide with respective larval mortality rates of 90±13.87% and 66.43±11.45%. The neem seed and B. bassiana treatments generated an increase in larval mortality rates of 64.29% and 87.86% respectively compared to the control. It is also noted that the control treatment recorded the highest number of pupae (91±14.1%). The performance of these biopesticides on pest mortality can contribute to ecological management and their introduction as alternative methods in moringa production basins in Niger.

Keywords

Moringa, Noorda blitealis, Neem extract, Beauveria bassiana, entomology laboratory, Maradi.