Botanical Insecticide Against Insect Pests of Tobacco Crop at District Swabi

Abstract

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is an economically important cash crop in Pakistan; however, its productivity is severely constrained by insect pests, particularly aphids and budworms. Excessive reliance on synthetic insecticides has raised concerns regarding environmental safety, resistance development, and residue contamination, necessitating the evaluation of alternative pest management strategies. The present study was conducted during 2025 at Sikandari Dagi, District Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to assess the comparative efficacy of a synthetic insecticide (lambda-cyhalothrin) and selected botanical extracts against major insect pests of tobacco. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with seven treatments and an untreated control, replicated three times. Treatments included lambda-cyhalothrin, neem oil, chongan, chinaberry seed, bakain leaf, and moringa leaf extracts, all applied at 5% concentration. Pest populations were recorded before treatment and at 24, 48, and 7 days after application, while plant height and cured leaf yield were also evaluated. Results revealed that lambda-cyhalothrin provided the most effective and consistent suppression of budworm populations, followed by moringa and neem extracts. Although botanical treatments exhibited comparatively lower efficacy than the synthetic insecticide, all treatments significantly reduced pest populations relative to the untreated control. Lambda-cyhalothrin also resulted in the maximum plant height (105.74 cm) and highest cured leaf yield (2097.7 kg ha⁻¹), whereas botanical extracts produced moderate but statistically significant improvements in growth and yield over the control. The findings suggest that while synthetic insecticides remain highly effective for rapid pest suppression, certain botanical extracts, particularly moringa and neem, hold potential as environmentally safer components of integrated pest management programs for tobacco cultivation.