The effectiveness of Furcraea plants in controlling golden apple snail and their effects on the non-target organism at the rice field

Abstract

Golden Apple Snail (GAS) is regarded as a serious invertebrate pest at the rice field. Most of the farmers prefer synthetic molluscicide, which delivers fast and effective responses, to control this pest. However, the synthetic molluscicide application negatively affects the farmers’ health and ecosystem. Therefore, the greener pest management technique is needed to eliminate this pest. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of Furcraea plants in killing GAS, and their effects on the non-target organisms, which were catfish and rice seedlings. The results showed that F. gigantea was more effective in controlling GAS compared to F. foetida and F. selloa. In controlled condition, the application of 27.59 g of F. gigantea in 1.2 liter of water killed at least 90% of GAS population within 24 hours. The F. gigantea could kill at least 80% of GAS population at most for 3 days after the application. When applied in the field, F. gigantea cut leaves resulted in 100% mortality to GAS, but at the same time did not kill the catfish. The application of F. gigantea cut leaves did not affect the chlorophyll content, and shoot to root ratio of rice plant, but enhanced the plant height and dry weight compared to the synthetic molluscicide.