Evaluación de la efectividad de atrayentes para el control de babosa (Limax sp.), durante el ciclo de cultivo de la col (Brassica olereacea) en la parroquia San Joaquín, cantón Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

Slugs are one of the main pests that attack vegetable crops in San Joaquín parish; in spite of the daily maintenance that is provided by farmers. The objective of this work was to determine the effectiveness of attractants for the control of slugs during the cabbage production cycle. The work was carried out in San Joaquín parish where 4 farms were chosen and four treatments were applied: metaldehyde, beer, rice husk mixed with molass, wet sand and a control (water). A randomized complete block design (RBD) was used, with 4 treatments plus a control and 4 repetitions, the variables evaluated were: effectiveness of each treatment for capturing slugs and their economic effectiveness. By means of a nonparametric analysis using the Kruskal Wallis test it was observed that there are not significant differences between treatments in terms of captures, that is to say, that T1, T2, T3 and T4 are equal but they differ with respect to the control (T5 = water) that was ineffective in capturing slugs. The analysis of economic effectiveness was carried out using the partial budget methodology, in which it was found that T3 = rice husk + molass was more profitable, since the marginal rate of return (TRM) is the highest with a total of 21.9%.