A Review On The Use Of Carbofuran And Plant Leaf Oil As Bioinsecticide In The Management Of Lepidopterous Maize Stemborers

Abstract

Stem borers interfere with the movement of water and metabolites through the plant's vascular system, which stunts its growth and development. Attacks during the first eight weeks after sowing result in “dead heart” and late damage (beyond eight weeks after sowing) leads to stem lodging. Both types of damage to the crop cause drastic loss in maize yield. The most important field pests of maize are lepidopterous stem and cob borers belonging to the families of Noctuidae and Pyralidae.  They are: the African stalk borer (Busseola fusca Fuller), the spotted stem borer (Chilo partellus Swinhoe), the pink stem borer (Sesamia calamistis Hampson) and the sugar cane borer (Eldana saccharina Walker). Controlling these insect pests is difficult because most part of their life cycles is spent inside the plant which serves as a physical protection to insecticide application. Synthetic insecticides have been used extensively in the past by farmers for the control of stem borers, but however, they have not been effective and are not easily biodegradable besides being expensive. However, in recent times much attention has been given to biopesticides especially in controlling insect pests both in the field and in the store. The use of botanicals for the control of agricultural pests is considered to be environmentally friendly and also reduce the cost of insecticides in pest management. Carbofuran is a broad spectrum carbamate pesticide that kills insects, mites and nematodes on contact or after ingestion. It is used against soil and foliar pests of field, fruit, vegetables and forest crops. It is a pesticide that is widely used to control insects and nematodes on a variety of agricultural crops because of its wide-ranging biological activity and relatively low persistence when compared to organochlorine pesticides. It is a systemic insecticide, which means that the plants absorbs it through the roots, and from here the plant distributes it throughout its organ (mainly vessels, stems and leaves; not the fruits), where insecticidal concentrations are attained.