Research Article
Nontarak Huong*, Kim EangTho,
Abstract
This study was carried out to assess the effect of repellent plants on insect population and damage on Chinese kale. The experiment was designed in randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with four treatments and 4 replications, 16 plots. The treatments using various types of basil, sweet basil (ocimumbasilicum), lemon basil (ocimumbasilicumcitriodorum), holy basil (ocimumtenuiflorum) while plots without barrier were used as a control treatment. Spring onion was intercropped in all treatments. Insect sampling was done on10 plants/plot selected by W-line to observe weekly intervals of pest occurrences. Average numbers of each species were recorded. The two main pests infested Chinese kale were aphid (Brevicorynebrassicae) and Diamondback moth (Plutellaxylostella). Moreover, the accumulative number of pests over time was significantly different among treatments and the mean of the total population was therefore statically different. The lowest insect number was found in sweet basil and holy basil treatments while serious damaged leaf area resulted in the control treatment. The findings revealed that the most effective basil in reducing infestation levels of aphid was sweet basil while holy basil shown promising results in suppressing DBM. The evaluation could help keep up a sustainable Chinese kale production by beneficial insect enhancement and free chemical application. Despite basil could have been integrated in managing Chinese kale, crop’s yield was not significantly different.