Biopesticide Efficacy Against Main Pests, Diseases, and Natural Enemies of Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.)

Synthetic pesticides are not effectively controlling pests and diseases of mungbean in Indonesia. The objective of this study was to examine the inundation of various types of biopesticides in controlling the main pests and diseases, and their impact on natural enemies in mungbean. The study consisted of five treatments namely P1 = preventive biopesticide (Trichoderma harzianum, neem seed powder (Azadirachta indica), Spodoptera litura Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus, Beauveria bassiana, and galangal rhizome extract) inundation, P2 = biopesticide application based on control threshold (CT), P3 = scheduled synthetic pesticide application, P4 = synthetic pesticide application based on CT, and P5 = without control. The results showed that P1 inundation reduced the population of 11 types of mungbean pests. The P1 treatment had the same efficacy as the P3 treatment. Scheduled and inundated application of biopesticides maintained the survival of natural enemies Oxyopes sp., Paederus sp., Coccinella sp., Andrallus sp., Sycanus sp. and the parasitoids Trichogramma sp., Telenomus sp., and Apantheles sp. Synthetic pesticides on schedule or based on control threshold killed the entire population of natural enemies. Preventive application of biopesticides could be recommended for controlling the main pests and diseases of mungbean as well as an alternative to synthetic pesticides.