EFEKTIVITAS CENDAWAN Trichoderma asperellum, Aspergillus niger, DAN A. flavus TERHADAP HAMA BAWANG MERAH Spodoptera exigua = Effectiveness of the Fungi Trichoderma asperellum, Aspergillus niger, and A. flavus against the Red Onion Pest Spodoptera exigua

Background. The larvae of Spodoptera exigua are major pests of shallot plants, attacking from the early growth stages by feeding on the plant's leaves. These attacks can cause significant yield losses. One of the effective control methods within Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is biological control using biocontrol agents. Several types of biocontrol agents that can be used include antagonistic fungi such as T. asperellum, A. niger, and A. flavus. This study was conducted in the Laboratory of Plant Pests and Diseases, Department of Plant Pests and Diseases, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar. Methods. This study employed a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments and three replications. Each replication used 10 larvae of S. exigua and applied two methods: the topical method and the feeding method. The treatments consisted of a control, T. asperellum 106/1mL, A. niger 106/1mL and A. flavus 106/1mL. Observations were conducted daily to assess the mortality of test insects after the fungal application. Results. The results showed that in the topical method, the highest mortality was observed in the T. asperellum treatment 63,33%, followed by A. flavus 53.33%, while the lowest mortality occurred in the A. niger treatment 46.67%. In the feeding method, the highest mortality was also achieved by the T. asperellum treatment 50.00%, followed by A. flavus 46.67%, and the lowest mortality was observed in the A. niger treatment 40.00%. Conclusion. It is concluded that the effectiveness tests of T. asperellum, A. niger, and A. flavus fungi against S. exigua larvae at a concentration of 106 in each treatment were able to cause larval mortality. However, the topical method yielded a higher mortality percentage compared to the feeding method.