Thesis (BS Agriculture major in Horticulture) -- Mariano Marcos State University-College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development, Batac City

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Eggplant has been continuously threatened by the presence of insect pests,
specifically a major insect pest which is the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB).
Field experiment was conducted to determine the efficacy of neem and chili extracts in
controlling EFSB at Barangay 57 Pila, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte from December to
April 2023. It specifically aimed to: 1) determine the effects of neem and chili extracts
on the growth of eggplants; 2) compare the effects of neem and chili extract on the
yield of eggplants, 3) compare the effects of neem and chili extract in controlling EFSB
of eggplants in terms of: pest incidence, pest infestation, severity and pest reduction;
and 4) assess the profitability of using neem and chili extract in area production.
The treatments (untreated plants, commercial insecticide, neem extract, chili
extract, neem+chili extract) were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design
(RCBD) with three replications. Treatment’s effects were evaluated in terms of growth,
yield performance and pest infestation of the test crops.
The growth and yield parameters were not significantly affected by neem and
chili extracts application except for the percent fruit set, number of fruits per plant,
percent marketable eggplant fruit, and yield per hectare. Application of neem+chili
extract significantly had a higher yield but comparable to plants applied with neem and
chili extract. In addition, the pest incidence, pest infestation severity and EFSB reduction
was not significantly affected by the application of different insecticide. Among the
treatments, neem+chili extract resulted higher production thereby giving higher net
income and return of investment.