BANGLI, Bali (BPN/PR) – Botanical pesticides include botanical insecticides and botanical fungicides. Botanical insecticides are any chemical (secondary metabolite) from plants that can provide one or more biological activities, both physiological and behavioral, on insect pests and meet the requirements for use in pest control.
This type of botanical pesticide has residues that are easily decomposed (biodegradable) in nature and are easily removed.
They can be produced at low cost so they do not pollute the environment and are relatively safe for humans and livestock (Kardinan, 2008).
These pesticides, with single and compound active ingredients, can function as appetite suppressants (antifeedants), repellents, attractants, inhibit development, reduce fertility, have a direct effect as poisons, and prevent egg laying.
In nature there are more than 1000 species of plants that contain insecticides, more than 380 species (zoology and botany) contain antifeedant substances, more than 270 species contain repellents, more than 35 species contain acaricides and more than 30 species contain growth inhibitors.
In the manufacture of botanical pesticides, EM-4 is needed as an activator or basic material that is rich in beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. EM4 helps suppress the growth of disease-causing organisms (OPT) in plants, improves plant health, and can be used as part of a biological pesticide formulation.
Tamanbali Village, Bangli Regency, is a village whose population is mostly farmers, residents tend to plant rice because rice is the main staple food and energy source for the Indonesian people, has a stable market and high demand, is suitable for tropical climate and land conditions in Indonesia, and provides the potential for sustainable income despite sometimes facing challenges in grain prices and production costs.
However, if farmers do not have good skills, they generally carry out monotonous planting patterns without crop rotation, resulting in many crop losses.
Planting crops without a rotation pattern (monoculture) causes a decrease in soil fertility due to the depletion of certain nutrients, increased attacks of resistant pests and diseases, and degradation of soil structure.
The consequences are that the soil becomes less healthy, crop yields decrease, and agriculture becomes unsustainable so that it requires more input of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but the impact of chemical pesticides is actually very bad for the soil and the sustainability of the ecosystem.
For that reason, the community service team of the Faculty of Agriculture and Business, Mahasaraswati University, Denpasar, chaired by Dr. Putu Eka Pasmidi Ariati, S.P., M.P. provided training in making botanical pesticides to the community with the aim of increasing the skills of the community in Tamanbali Village so that they are able to reduce the use of chemical pesticides and even replace them with using botanical pesticides whose ingredients are available in nature, the people of Bangli, especially in Taman Bali village are very enthusiastic about learning so that there is a significant increase in partner empowerment.
After the training, the community was able to make, apply and even develop botanical pesticides on the rice plants.
