UTILIZATION OF CASHEW NUTSHELL LIQUID EXTRACTION DREGS TO CONTROL GOLDEN APPLE SNAILS IN RICE

Abstract

Rice is one of the major staple food crops in the world. Golden apple snail is an important pest that can reduce rice productivity. Cashew is a plant that has potential as a botanical pesticide. Extraction of cashew nutshell produce CNSL (Cashew Nutshell Liquid) which can be used as an effective botanical pesticide. The extraction process will leave behind the dregs that suspected still have toxicity and indicated as molluscide, so it is necessary to conduct research to determine the effectiveness of the dregs of cashew nutshell extraction against Golden apple snail in rice. This research had been conducted from June to December 2023 at UMBY.  The study used a single factor that was concentration of dregs of cashew nutshell extraction which consisted of four levels namely 4, 2, 1%, and without the dregs of cashew nutshell application (0%) as a control. The research consisted of two steps. The first step was toxicity test of the dregs to Golden apple snail. The next step was application test of the dregs against the snail in rice cultivation. The results showed that the dregs of cashew nutshell extraction had toxicity to Golden apple snail, with LC50 of 2.72% (27200 ppm). The dregs of cashew nutshell at a concentration of 4% was the most effective in controlling the Golden snail, meanwhile concentrations of 1, 2, or 4% did not affect rice growth until 35 days after planting but could increase the number of tillers and fresh weight of rice plants. These findings provide important evidence for the use of cashew nut shell extract as a molluscicide, particularly for controlling golden apple snails in rice.