Title: Effect of eggplant/basil association on the major pests of eggplant under Sudan-Sahelian conditions in Mali
Abstract:
Eggplant is one of Mali's most widely grown and pest-ridden vegetables. Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), leafhoppers (Ampoasca spp) and aphids (Aphis gossypii) have a negative impact on production. To minimize the resulting losses, the biological efficacy of basil (Ocimum basilicum) in combination with eggplant was tested on these pests. To this purpuse, a layout comprising 5 treatments (3 pure treatments: Black Beauty (BB), Local Long Fruit (LFL) and basil (large green variety) and 2 combinations: Black Beauty combined with basil (BB.Basil) and Local Long Fruit combined with basil (LFL.Basil). The results show that 4 treatments of had a low infestation of Bemisia tabaci. They recorded 1.40, 2.15, 3.55 and 3.70 individuals per plot (3.36 m2) respectively. The highest level of infestation was obtained with pure long-fruit local (LFL) (8.17 individuals). Infestation reduction rates in relation to the latter were 82.86; 73.68; 56.55 and 54.71%. Empoasca population levels were low on pure basil and on both combinations. The highest levels were obtained with the two varieties planted in pure. Basil had a repellent effect on whitefly and leafhopper, and an attractive effect on aphids and noctuid moth. Throughout the trial, populations of beneficial insects were very low in pure eggplant, as in the case of Nesidiocorus tenuis. The push-pull strategy using basil significantly reduced eggplant infestation by Bemisia tabaci and Empoasca spp, and increased crop yield by 36% in Locale and 34% in Black Beauty. Combined cultivation of eggplant and basil appears to be a good agroecological method for managing crop pests.
