Eyyüp Mennan YILDIRIM
Adnan Menderes University, Agricultural Faculty,
Agricultural Biotechnology Department, Aydın, Turkey

Abstract

Cryptoblabes gnidiella is one of the important pests in pomegranate orchards. Despite the fact that the synthetic pesticides have many adverse side effects on human beings and the environment, there is a very limited number of studies on the effects of botanical and bio pesticides to control the pests in pomegranate. For this reason, this study investigates Neem (azadirachtin) and Bacillus thuringiensis which is known to be environmentally friendly and harmless to natural enemies that are helpful to control the pest, C. gnidiella in pomegranate orchards. The study was conducted in two provinces which are located at 37°83′56″N; 28°56′38″E  and 37°86′73″N; 28°19′82″E districts in Turkey, known for having rich pomegranate areas. Doses of the Neem (400g/100 l and 500g/100 l) affected the pest 80.49 % and 87.80 %, respectively. Also, Bacillus thuringiensis affected  the pest 92.68%. According to the results, we confidently suggest that Neem and Bacillus thuringiensis can potentially be used for the controlof C. gnidiella.

INTRODUCTION

Cryptoblabes gnidiella Mill. (Lep.: Pyralidae) is one of the polyphagous pests causing economic losses in fruit orchards in many countries all around the world. Many researches in this area have shown that the damage from the pest resulted in serious economic losses in many crops (1, 2). Recent researches demonstrate that C. gnidiella leads to serious damages especially on the pomegranate. There is a limited number of researches on the pests in the pomegranates that are cultivated in subtropical climates. These studies found that C. gnidiella which feeds on pomegranate fruits producing premature produce eventually leading to loss of market value (3,4). In one of their researches which they conducted across the East Mediterranean area, Öztürk and Ulusoy (3) also indicated that pomegranate was host of honeydew moth C. gnidiella, with a destructive rate of 6- 41 %. Calta and Ural (5) have also stated that most of the synthetic insecticides are poisonous not only for animals but also for human beings. Whereas numerous insecticides are well known to be safe to use, Tunaz and Uygun (6) noteds that some of these are re ...