Increasing the weight of onion bulbs due to the reduction of Spodoptera exigua using a portable light trap

Abstract

Red onion is one of the strategic horticultural commodities whose distribution is almost in all regions of Indonesia. The problem of this this commodity is the low productivity resulting from the Spodoptera exigua pest attack. Based on the problem above, the purpose of this research is to design a portable pest control lamp. This lamp will be measured its effectiveness in trapping pests. This study also aims to determine the effect of trap effectiveness on increasing the weight of onion bulbs. This study used a randomized block design with 3 treatments. The observed variables were the number of pest catches in each treatment as well as the weight of onion bulbs produced by the land that was placed in each treatment. The results showed that T3, a trap with a constant light, was the best treatment with an average yield of S. exigua catch reaching 126.75 S. exigua. The second best results were given by T2 and T1 with an average catch reaching 74.75 and 46.75. The best weight is also given by T3 with an average weight reaching 116 g. The second best results were given by T2 and T1 with an average weight of 96 g and 85 g.