Tobacco Extracts, the Ultimate Weapon of caterpillars

Onion farmers are always wary of the presence of the caterpillar Spodoptera exigua Hubner (Lepidoptera noctuidae). These animals become pests every harvest season. Harwanto, a researcher from the East Java Agricultural Technology Research Institute (BPTP), has the ultimate weapon to eliminate this pest.

Harwanto uses extracts of tobacco leaf waste (Nicotiana Tabacum L) for plant-based insecticides. He conducted his research at the Laboratory of Biological Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy UGM and the Laboratory of Pests and Plant Diseases BPTP East Java.

According to Harwanto, the chromatographic profile of Madura tobacco leaf waste extracted with distilled water distillates from other solvents obtained dissolved bioactive compounds was 100 percent nicotine (C10H14N2).

From these results also obtained the level of similarity with the index 94 which has 83 percent toxicity (effective) by mechanism both by mouth and contact for larvae instar II Spodoptera exigua.

"The extract of the tobacco leaf waste affects the mortality and development of S.exigua and does not affect the reproductive variables," Harwanto said in Yogyakarta.

According to him, extracts of tobacco leaf waste which has a high nicotine content in Indonesia is still limited in research and has not been much revealed in depth. Especially from the scientific aspect of S.exigua's response on a laboratory scale to the level of toxicity of various solvents, mortality and development, feeding activities, feed consumption efficiency, and the development and suppression of production. "This is very important because in the field many farmers use tobacco tobacco as material to control S.exigua," he said.

Harwanto added many well-known examples of natural materials used as plant-based insecticides include tobacco leaves with their nicotine content, pyrethral flour flour with pyrethrin content, tuba roots with rotenon content and neem with azadiractin content.

The other side of this research is to expand the use of safer plant-based insecticides. Understandably so far most farmers are still relying on synthetic chemical insecticides. "Whereas excessive chemical use will cause adverse effects, namely environmental pollution, resurgence, resistance, and the destruction of non-target organisms," he said.

Source : https://tekno.tempo.co/read/417153/ekstrak-tembakau-senjata-pamungkas-basmi-ulat