Potential of cow dung as insect herbivore repellent on Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)

Abstract

This study examined the potential of using cow dung as a repellent of herbivore pest on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and the work was carried out in the botanical and zoological garden of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria. Four accessions of cowpea were grown in the soil samples collected from the Botanical and Zoological garden of the University of Lagos. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with three replicates to monitor the potential of using cow dung as a repellent of herbivore pest on cowpea for a period of six weeks. The data collected was analyzed using ANOVA. The results showed that cow dung treatments did not have significant effect at (P> 0.05) in repelling the insect of cowpeas. However, the plants treated with high concentrations of cow dung attracted significantly (P<0.05) higher number of insect pests and as the days of the application of the treatments increases, the number of leaves damaged by the insects increases. This study therefore recommends that a further study should be carried out using some other different plants species at different locations and under different environmental conditions. Keywords: Cow dung, cowpea, insect repellent