EFFECT OF DIFFERENT CONCENTRATION OF NEEM OIL ON INSECT PESTS OF OKRA (ABELMOSCHUS ESCULENTUS L. MOENCH) IN MINNA, NIGER STATE

Abstract

The research was conducted to evaluate the effect of neem oil on the management of insect pests of okra, in the Teaching and research Farm of the Department of Crop Production, Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger State. Different concentrations of Neem oil; 75 ml, 50 ml, 25 ml and 0 ml were used to control the infestation of insect pests for four weeks on Clemson Spineless okra variety. Data on plant height, stem diameter, leaf length, pest population, number of flowers, number of fruits and fruit weight were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) the means were separated using least significance difference (LSD). The result indicated that neem oil at 75 ml showed the highest level of effectiveness in the plant yield and morphological performance while 50 ml performed better on pest population hence the results of this study suggests that neem oil can be used as an alternative to chemical pesticides for managing insect pests of okra in Minna