Integrated Management in Boosting Up Capsicum annuum L. Production Using Integrated Farming and Biopesticide

Noor Shahira Md Yusoff, Norhidayah Che Soh, Husni Hayati Mohd Rafdi, Suhaizan Lob, Nor Idzwana Mohd Idris and Johar Mohamed

Background and Objective: Chilli is highly susceptible to various types of pests and diseases that affect both yield quality and quantity. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the potential of intercropping practices and bio-pesticide application on the chilli’s growth performance, pest severity and yield. Materials and Methods: The study was performed using Capsicum annuum (chilli) as the main crop, while Citrus hystrix (kaffir lime), Curcuma longa (turmeric) and Cosmos caudatus (king salad) were used as the plant species for intercropping. Four pesticide treatments were applied including the chemical pesticide as control. Results: Results indicated that the differences between all measured parameters were found to be highly significant (p<0.01) for both intercropping and pesticide except for the fresh weight of chilli fruit. The differences between all measured parameters namely, plant height, stem diameter, crown diameter, fresh weight of chilli fruit and pest severity were also highly significant (p<0.01) with plant age. The results also found that the combination of intercropping (chilli×king salad) and bio-pesticide (neem extract) resulted in greater stem and crown diameters, lowest pest severity and the heaviest weight of chilli fruit compared to other combination, including the control (chemical pesticide) treatment. Conclusion: Therefore, it was concluded that the application of intercropping of chilli and king salad together with neem extract as a biopesticide produce a greater yield in terms of quantity and quality compared to conventional planting method which practices mono-cropping and applying chemical pesticide.

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