© The Authors, 2025, Published by the Universidad del Zulia*Corresponding author: navauniversidaddelzulia@gmail.com
Keywords:
Ecological alternative
Capsicum spp.
Allium sativum
Damage
Technical note
Use of plant extracts for the protection of the plantain bunch (Musa AAB) against insects,
Sucre municipality, Zulia State
Uso de extractos vegetales para la protección del racimo de plátano (Musa AAB) contra insectos,
municipio Sucre, estado Zulia
Uso de extratos vegetais para proteção do cacho de bananeira (Musa AAB) contra insetos, município
de Sucre, estado de Zulia
Juan Carlos Nava
1
*
Kleber Manuel Calle Romero
2
Pedro Andrade Alvarado
2
Nestor Vera Lucio
2
Winston Espinoza Moran
2
Rev. Fac. Agron. (LUZ). 2025, 42(1): e254201
ISSN 2477-9407
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47280/RevFacAgron(LUZ).v42.n1.I
Crop production
Associate editor: Dra. Lilia Urdaneta
University of Zulia, Faculty of Agronomy
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
1
Departamento de Agronomía, Facultad de Agronomía,
Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela.
2
Universidad Agraria del Ecuador, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Dirección postal institucional 090104.
Received: 24-09-2024
Accepted: 07-11-2024
Published: 18-12-2024
Abstract
Plantain producers from the Sucre municipality of Zulia state,
Venezuela, have expressed concerns about improving or maintaining
the quality of the bunch, seeking to protect it from damage caused
by insects, thus harming its appearance for marketing. It was
proposed to evaluate the eect of aqueous plant extracts from the
100 % water-plant organ mixture for the protection of the plantain
bunch. A completely randomized experimental design was used
with 5 treatments and 20 repetitions. The treatments were: T1:
cluster without product application; T2: cluster sprinkled with
garlic bulb extract (Allium sativum); T3: cluster sprinkled with
hot pepper fruit extract (Capsicum spp.); T4: bunch sprayed with
lemongrass (Swinglea glutinosa) leaf extract and T5: bunch sprayed
with eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) leaf extract. The variable that
was studied was: bunch fruits without damage from insects attack.
T2 and T3 presented a higher percentage of fruits without insect
damage (94 and 96 % respectively), with better quality in the bunch
for commercialization.
This scientic publication in digital format is a continuation of the Printed Review: Legal Deposit pp 196802ZU42, ISSN 0378-7818.
Rev. Fac. Agron. (LUZ). 2025, 42(1): e254201 January-March. ISSN 2477-9407.
2-4 |
Resumen
Los productores de plátano del municipio Sucre del estado Zulia,
Venezuela, han presentado la inquietud de mejorar o mantener la calidad
del racimo, buscando la protección del mismo del daño ocasionado
por insectos, que perjudican su aspecto para la comercialización. Se
planteó evaluar el efecto de extractos vegetales acuosos de la mezcla
agua-órgano de la planta al 100 % para la protección del racimo de
plátano. Se utilizó un diseño experimental completamente aleatorio
con 5 tratamientos y 20 repeticiones. Los tratamientos fueron: T1:
racimo sin aplicación de producto; T2: racimo asperjado con extracto
de bulbos de ajo (Allium sativum); T3: racimo asperjado con extracto
de frutos de ají picante (Capsicum spp.); T4: racimo asperjado con
extracto de hojas de limoncillo (Swinglea glutinosa) y T5: racimo
asperjado con extracto de hojas de eucalipto (Eucalyptus spp.). La
variable que se estudio fue: frutos del racimo de plátano sin daños
por ataque de insectos. Los T2 y T3 presentaron mayor porcentaje de
frutos sin daños de insectos (94 y 96 % respectivamente), con mejor
calidad en el racimo para la comercialización.
Palabras clave: alternativas ecológicas, Capsicum spp., Allium
sativum, daños.
Resumo
Os produtores de banana do município de Sucre, estado de Zulia,
Venezuela, têm manifestado preocupação em melhorar ou manter
a qualidade do cacho, buscando protegê-lo de danos causados por
insetos, prejudicando assim sua aparência para comercialização.
Propôs-se avaliar o efeito de extratos vegetais aquosos provenientes
da mistura 100 % água-órgãos vegetais na proteção do cacho de
bananeira. Foi utilizado delineamento experimental inteiramente
casualizado com 5 tratamentos e 20 repetições. Os tratamentos
foram: T1: cacho sem aplicação de produto; T2: cacho polvilhado
com extrato de bulbo de alho (Allium sativum); T3: cacho polvilhado
com extrato de pimenta (Capsicum spp.); T4: cacho pulverizado com
extrato de folhas de capim-limão (Swinglea glutinosa) e T5: cacho
pulverizado com extrato de folhas de eucalipto (Eucalyptus spp.).
A variável estudada foi: frutos de cacho de banana sem danos por
ataque de insetos. T2 e T3 apresentaram maior percentual de frutos
sem danos por insetos (94 e 96 % respectivamente), com melhor
qualidade no cacho para comercialização.
Palavras-chave: alternativas ecológicas, Capsicum spp., Allium
sativum, dano.
Introduction
In the subtropical and tropical regions of Latin America, Asia,
and Africa, where high temperatures and relative humidity prevail,
bananas (Musa spp.) are among the main cultivated plants; therefore,
in many countries such as Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil, they are
strategic crops that ensure food security (Martínez and Rey, 2021).
In Venezuela, the crop constitute a social, nutritional, and economic
importance (Nava, 2019).
A problem that arises is that dierent insects attack the banana
crop with greater or lesser incidence, being evident that the control
of these harmful agents must be based on a set of sanitary practices
properly applied to keep it below the critical economic level.
As for the insects that cause damage to the bunch, there are the
banana fruit scarring beetle (Colaspis spp.), which makes irregular
scrapings on the entire surface of the fruit, and the stingless bee
(Trigona spp.), which damages only the edges of the epicarp, in both
cases, on young fruit (Nava, 2019). It is possible to dierentiate in the
eld the type of lesion caused by Colaspis spp. from that caused by
Trigona spp.
In this sense, Barrera et al. (2018) indicated that Colaspis spp.
is causing economic losses; highlighting that quality standards do
not allow the presence of chemical residues in fruits. The abuse and
misuse of these products has caused contamination and pest resistance
to the active ingredients. According to Lichtemberg (2024), research
on plantain bunch management practices should be continued in order
to improve the appearance thereof.
In this context, Villaseñor and Lata (2024) pointed out that
producers should be provided with other management strategies to
reduce the cost associated with agrochemicals and their harmful
eects on human health and the environment. Palomeque et al.
(2023) stated that a situational analysis with planning and control
should be carried out in each production unit, reviewing the dierent
tasks. On the other hand, there are practices to protect the bunch, such
as bagging, with the objective of avoiding damage from rubbing,
insect attacks and improving the appearance of the fruit, but this has
an impact on the environment, as the bags, after being used, remain in
disuse and have a terrible nal disposal.
Villasmil et al. (2022) emphasized that production with ecological
alternatives is a system that seeks to improve environmental
conditions and maintain a healthier agroecosystem over time. For
Nascimento et al. (2020), the intensive use of agrochemicals is
an available option for the general management of plantain crops;
however, other strategies should be provided to producers to reduce
the cost associated with chemicals and their harmful eects on human
health and ecosystems. Jaramillo et al. (2022) pointed out that it is
necessary to evaluate ecological alternatives in musaceae, in order to
provide options that can be used in the management of the crop.
In the search to improve or maintain the quality of the plantain
bunch, it is necessary to use natural, environmentally friendly
alternatives such as the use of vegetable extracts of hot pepper fruits
(Capsicum spp.); garlic bulbs (Allium sativum); lemongrass leaves
(Swinglea glutinosa) and eucalyptus leaves (Eucalyptus spp.), to
protect the plantain bunch from insects that cause damage to the
fruits, thus damaging their appearance for marketing. Therefore,
the objective of this research was to evaluate the eect of aqueous
plant extracts for bunch protection in plantain crops in the Sucre
municipality of Zulia state, Venezuela.
Materials and methods
Study area description
The research was carried out in the Macondo production
unit, located in the Asociacion de Productores de Cacao y Plátano
(ASOPROCASUZU), Sucre municipality, Zulia state, Venezuela,
located in the southern sub-region of Lake Maracaibo; geographical
coordinates 9° 8’ 29’’ S and 71° 4’ 57’’ W, bordered to the north by
Lake Maracaibo; to the south by the state of Merida; to the east by
the state of Trujillo; and to the west by the municipality of Francisco
Javier Pulgar. The soils are medium-textured and well-drained. The
average annual temperature is 28 °C, the predominant altitude is 6
This scientic publication in digital format is a continuation of the Printed Review: Legal Deposit pp 196802ZU42, ISSN 0378-7818.
Vera et al. Rev. Fac. Agron. (LUZ). 2025, 42(1): e254201
3-4 |
masl and rainfall is 1,700 mm.year
-1
(Corporación para el Desarrollo
de la Región Zuliana [CORPOZULIA], 2022).
Experimental unit
The experimental unit was the bunch of a Harton plantain (Musa
AAB) plant.
Experimental design
The experimental design was totally randomized with 5 treatments
and 20 replications for a total of 100 Harton plantain plants, 24
months old, with a planting distance of 3 m between rows x 2 m
between plants, for a total of 1,667 plants.ha
-1
.
Treatments
T1: control plant, bunch without product application; T2: bunch
sprayed with garlic bulb extract; T3: bunch sprayed with hot pepper
fruit extract; T4: bunch sprayed with lemongrass leaf extract; T5:
bunch sprayed with eucalyptus leaf extract.
Variable
Plantain bunch fruit without damage by insect attack. The fruits
of each bunch were counted, then it was veried how many showed
damage, identifying the causal agent, and then the percentage was
obtained.
Extracts
1 kg of garlic bulbs; 1 kg of hot bell pepper fruits; 4 kg of lemongrass
leaves and 4 kg of eucalyptus leaves, liqueed separately (Black
Decker blender, model BLBD21OPR, United States of America),
washed with soap and water after each use, with concentrations of
each aqueous extract of 100 % in 5 liters of water, with a rest of 72
hours for all extracts (Nava, 2019).
Management
A tour of the plantation was made, locating the plants that had
one week old bunches, identifying them with colored tape according
to the treatment. The bunches were then sprayed with plant extracts
using a 100 % water-organ plant mixture, so that the eect would
act as a repellent against the dierent insects that approached the
bunches. It was evidenced in the productive unit after 20 visits in
periods with and without rain, that dierent insects approach the
plantain bunch producing damages to it (during all the months the
insects were present). The applications were carried out weekly with
a back sprayer with a capacity of 18 L, Carpi brand, model carpi18,
Brazil, for four weeks, then the epicarp of the plantain fruit thickens
and the insects do not produce damage.
The practices of desuckering, defoliation and sanitary defoliation
were carried out. Undergrowth weed management was carried out
weekly, manually with a machete. Eleven weeks after the treatments
were identied, all the marked bunches were harvested. A total count
of the fruit was made, checking for damage. The incidence of insects
was estimated by counting the lesions produced by each genus in each
bunch harvested.
Data processing and analysis techniques
The results were processed through the Statistical Analisys
System (SAS®) statistical package (SAS, 2014); an analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was performed on the variables under study to
demonstrate the eect of the application of the dierent treatments,
and if signicant, Tukey’s mean comparison test was performed.
Results and discussion
There was a signicant dierence (p<0.05) for the variable
fruit without damage by insect attack, since there was a dierence
between the means of T2 (94 %) and T3 (96 %) with respect to the
other treatments with values for T1; T4 and T5 of: 2 %; 28 % and 31
% respectively (table 1). Therefore, the use of garlic bulbs and hot
pepper fruits as aqueous plant extracts at a concentration of 100 % is
recommended, being viable for optimal management of the bunches
in the plantation.
Table 1. Percentage of fruit without insect damage in the plantain
bunch, Sucre municipality, Zulia state.
Treatment Fruit average
Fruits without
damage (%)
Coecient of
variation
Without product 0,6 c 2 2,38
Garlic bulbs 28,2 a 94 0,05
Hot pepper fruits 28,2 a 96 0,06
Lemongrass leaves 8,4 b 28 1,06
Eucalyptus leaves 9,3 b 31 1,00
Dierent letters indicate signicant dierences obtained by Tukey’s mean
comparison test (p<0.05).
With the use of aqueous extracts obtained from garlic bulbs and
hot pepper fruits as repellents, a high percentage of clean fruits can
be obtained, without using agrochemicals, promoting alternatives that
are adapted to the production units.
Barrera et al. (2018), evaluated the eect of bags impregnated
with garlic on the incidence and severity of lesions caused by Colaspis
spp. In that work the aqueous extract of garlic at a concentration of
100 %, was the one that caused the greatest repellency of insects and
a decrease in fruit damage of 98 %.
In this context, Claros et al. (2019) indicated that biodiversity
is threatened by the spread of insects, so there is a need to develop
environmentally friendly management strategies. Villasmil et al.
(2022) emphasized that organic production is a system that seeks to
improve environmental conditions through ecological management.
This assertion is conrmed by the results of this research.
Centanaro and Nava (2021) stated in their publication on
musaceae that 58.34 % of producers made an uncontrollable use
of agrochemicals, reecting the lack of monitoring, control in the
application of products and high possibility of intoxication, with a
lack of knowledge of producers of the new trends in integrated pest
management and cultural controls. With the results of this research,
the alternative of using aqueous plant extracts at 100 % concentration
is now presented, being viable in an ecological management.
The insects collected during this research and which caused the
damage observed in the plantain bunches were Colaspis spp. (31
%) and Trigonas spp. (69 %); the greatest amount of damage was
observed on the edges of the epicarp, with lesions that aected the
quality of the bunch.
Plantain producers should identify the insects that visit their
plantations, knowing the damage they can cause, with a permanent
review in the search for minimizing the environmental impact. In this
sense, based on these results, the quality and appearance of the fruit
can be maintained in the marketing process.
Therefore, according to what has been presented, it is possible
to work with new trends in integrated insect management, with the
aim of reducing the application of chemical products in plantain
cultivation with production units that are more sustainable.
Conclusions
With the use of plant extracts, it was possible to obtain a low
percentage of damage caused by insects in the plantain bunch,
maintaining the quality of the bunch.
This scientic publication in digital format is a continuation of the Printed Review: Legal Deposit pp 196802ZU42, ISSN 0378-7818.
Rev. Fac. Agron. (LUZ). 2025, 42(1): e254201 January-March. ISSN 2477-9407.
4-4 |
The most eective extracts for the protection of plantain bunches
from damage caused by Colaspis spp. and Trigonas spp. insects were
those obtained from garlic bulbs at a concentration of 100% and from
hot pepper fruits at the same concentration, which are recommended
for inclusion in biological control programs to prevent the appearance
of damage that aects the commercial quality of the fruits.
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