Abstract

Mihiret Mekonnen , Begashaw Manahile2 and Beemnet Mengesha

Artemisia absinthum L. is a perennial aromatic and medicinal herb that belongs to the family of Asteraceae and the genus Artemisia. A. absinthum production is practically affected by aphid, which causes up to 90% infestation at the study site. The objective of the study was to screen effective botanicals for the control of aphid on A. absinthum. Crude extracts of Pyrethrum, M. ferruginea, C. citrates, C. citrates + Pyrethrum and Pyrethrum + V. amygdalina were investigated. Diazinon® 60EC was used as a standard check and untreated plants as control. Treatments were arranged in completely randomized design and randomized complete block design for greenhouse and field experiments, respectively. In greenhouse experiment, the botanicals (20% v/v) were sprayed 20 days after introducing aphids. However, in field experiment, botanicals were sprayed on established plants before aphid occurrence and continued at 15 day interval for five rounds. Significant variations were observed among most treatments. Pyrethrum extract showed the highest efficacy against the target aphid with 91.81 and 87.27% mortalities in greenhouse and field conditions respectively. M. ferruginea extract ranked second with 72.7% and 64.5% mortalities in greenhouse and field conditions, respectively. About 87.27- 91.81% aphid population can be reduced by application of Pyrethrum crude extract.