Abstract:
Termites caused major economic damage to sugarcane plantations. An experiment was conducted at
the Sugarcane Research Institute (SRI), Uda Walawe, Sri Lanka, with the objective of determining
potential plant extracts that have insecticide properties to manage termites during germination and
the early plant growth phases of sugarcane. Three plant species that are available in the sugarcane
ecosystem were selected for the field study, i.e., Leucaena leucocephala (Ipil-Ipil) pods and leaves,
Gliricidia sepium (Gliricidia), and Lantana camara (Gandapana). The immature pods and mature
leaves of the pesticidal plants were used for the experiment. Filtrate of blended withered plant parts
was used for sett treatment at planting. Three pretermite infested plots with six rows of 5 m length
and 1.37 m row spacing were established with three nodal setts of variety SL 96 128. Twenty seed
setts were planted in each row according to the recommended practices. Data on plant
characteristics (germination, plant height, length of the third leaf, width of the third leaf, root mass),
and damage were observed four weeks after planting. All the plant extracts had significantly less sett
damage compared to the non-treated control. Among them, the lowest sugarcane sett damage was
recorded on G. sepium leaf extract treated sugarcane setts (9.33± 2.85) followed by L. camara treated
setts (11 ± 2.89). Germination and plant characters were not significantly affected by extractions
compared to the non-treated control. The highest germination was recorded on Fipronil treated
sugarcane setts (19 ± 2). The highest leaf number was recorded on the non-treated control (4.47 ±
0.32). The highest plant height was recorded on L. leucocephala pod treated sugarcane setts (9.16 ±
1.49). Moreover, , L. leucocephala leaf extract treated sugarcane setts showed the highest root weight
(1.38 ± 0.79). Therefore, aqueous extracts of Gliricidia sepium leaf and Lantana camara leaf are
effective in managing termite damage in sugarcane setts at the planting and early growth stages.
