Facing the Explosion of Onion Caterpillar (Spodoptera exigua), IPB Spread the Virus Technology
The problem of the pest attack of onion caterpillar (Spodoptera exigua) received the increasing attention, after President RI Joko Widodo got ‘the gift ‘ of the onion leaves which were attacked by the caterpillars from the farmers during a visit to Brebes Central Java, 11 April 2016. The pest attack and the onion disease were the main obstacles in the production of onion. Two pests/diseases which were very damaging the onion were onion caterpillar (Spodoptera exigua) and fusarium stem rot (Fusarium oxysporum). The pest attack and the diseases from year to year were heavier because of the destruction of the agro-ecosystem of onion. The damage to ecosystem of planting the onion was caused by the high use of pesticide for the control of pests/diseases, and the rarely use of the organic fertilizer in the cultivation process.
If this high pesticide use was carried on and there was no attempt to bring it down, the pest and disease problems would be more severe, the production cost was becoming higher and the onion farming became unprofitable. As an illustration, the cost of purchasing the pesticide for the onion plant per season per hectare around 16 million rupiah. The cost for the onion farming which was uneconomical made the national onion production not competitive anymore compared with the production of onion of other countries. Therefore, it was necessary to have a breakthrough to develop the cultivation of onion that was more ecological and cheaper.
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) through various researches had produced a technology which was very effective and environmentally friendly to control the onion caterpillar namely Se NPV (Spodoptera exigua Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus). The insect virus caused the caterpillar become ill and dying within 1-3 days. The effectiveness of the field was very high, namely reaching 93 percent and already tested on the onion planting in the fields in Brebes, Tegal and Cirebon, so not only tested in the laboratory. The virus that attacked this insect was safe against the natural enemies, the livestock and the human, and easily propagated by the farmers.
In response to the pest attack of the onion caterpillar at the moment, the Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture of IPB, precipitated the Plant Clinic around Brebes 23-24 April 2016. In addition to holding a field observation, in the occasion it was distributed the source of Se NPV by Chairman of the Department of Plant Protection, Dr. Suryo Wiyono, to the farmers of the managers of the posts of biological agents coming from the centers of onion namely Brebes, Tegal, Kulonprogo and Nganjuk. Hereinafter, the source would be reproduced in the posts of biological agents to be applied to the farmers in the respective areas.***
