Effect of Hargal (Solenostemma argel (Del) Hayne) shoot powder aqueous extract on some tomato insect pests

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out for two seasons 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, on sandy soil in Fogga village at Barra locality, North Kordofan State, Sudan to evaluate the efficacy of Hargal shoot powder aqueous extract (Solenostermma argel (Del) Hayne) at 10, 20, 30 and 40g/litre of water to control the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Genn.) and African bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera Hübner) on tomato compared with the standard insecticide Permethrin 10% EC at 68 g a.i./fed and untreated control. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used. Mean number of B. tabaci adults/5 plants, mean percentage infested fruit by H. armigera and the percentage incidence of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) were measured. Hargal extract at 40g/litre showed comparable performance to the standard insecticide Permethrin in reducing the number of B. tabaci adults, which resulted in lowering infested fruit and the percentage of plants infected by TYLCV. Tomato yield obtained from plants treated with Hargal extract at 40g/litre and the standard insecticide was 25.2 and 25.3 ton/ha, respectively. The study recommended that Hargal shoot powder aqueous extract at 40 g/ L of water + 50 ml of 5% gum Arabic can be used as foliar application for the control B. tabaci and H. armigera on tomato fields.