Insecticidal Activity of Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.) Leaf Extract on Mung Bean Weevil (Callosobruchus chinensis L.)

Infection of mung bean weevil (Callosobruchus chinensis) might cause weight loss of mung bean seeds up to 55-69% and loss of protein content up to 45.6-66.3%. An eco-friendly strategy to manage this storage pest could be performed through the utilization of botanical pesticide, such as the leaf extract bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.). This study was aimed to investigate the insecticidal activity of bitter melon leaf extract (BMLE) against mung bean weevil. This study was conducted using Completely Randomized Design consisting of 5 dosages of BMLE application (0, 1.4, 2.7, 5.3, and 9.6%) with 5 repetitions. BMLE was applied to 100 g of mung bean seeds, then 10 mung bean weevils were infested into the treated seeds and stored for 38 days in room temperature. Both insecticidal activity and seed quality were carefully observed during the storage period. Results showed that application of 5.3 and 9.6% BMLE exhibited similar mortality of mung bean weevil. Both dosages also showed no negative effect on the seed quality indicating that BMLE might also contribute in maintaining the seed during the storage. Therefore, these results emphasized the promising potential of BMLE to be developed as the botanical insecticide for storage pest.