Management Strategies Against Flea Beetle (Phyllotreta cruciferae Goeze) Infesting Pechay (Brassica rapa L.) in La Trinidad, Benguet

Abstract

The study evaluated five management strategies against flea beetle infesting pechay varieties in terms of population, degree of crop injury, yield, and yield loss, determined the degree of efficacy and contribution of the treatments against flea beetle, and compared the return on investment (ROI) of the different management strategies employed. The study was conducted in La Trinidad, Benguet in 2021. Results revealed that while management strategies have a significant influence on the degree of injury by flea beetles (23% or slight in Black Behi and 30% or moderate in Cherokee), no positive interaction was traced in all major parameters used. Untreated plants showed even comparable injuries with those installed with physical barriers such as sticky traps, row covers, and sweeping. Insecticide spraying gave the greatest contribution as a single management strategy in both Black Behi and Cherokee varieties; however, netting gave the highest control contribution. For combination treatments, sweeping + netting gave the highest contribution of control but sweeping + row cover contributed the least to flea beetle pest control. Further, netting gave the highest ROI in Black Behi followed by sweeping + netting, while insecticide use resulted in the lowest gain. On the other hand, Cherokee had the highest ROI under sweeping + netting, closely followed by netting, while the lowest ROI was obtained from sweeping + row cover. Netting has contributed much in decreasing the insect population and degree of injury regardless of variety; however, the use of Black Behi without any applied treatments is still the most practical way in pechay production.