Inhibitory Effect of Carbofuran Furadan 3G on the Cocoon Production and Viability in Pheretima javanica Gates

Abstract

Though carbofuran has known to possess adverse effects in soil organisms including earthworms, little is known about the effects of carbofuran, either dirrectly or indirrectly, on the earthworm Pheretima javanica. This study aimed to investigate the effect of carbofuran at sublethal doses on the cocoons production and viability of Pheretima javanica worms. Six groups of earthworms, each consisted of four worms, were reared in plastic pots and fed on cow manure mixed with carbofuran as much as 0 mg (for control), 0.1mg , 0.2mg, 0.3mg, 0.4mg and 0.5mg repectively. Cocoons produced were hand sorted every two weeks for three months and presented as the number of cocoons per individual per moth. Cocoon viability was determined by observing the hatchling emerged from the cocoons incubated in Petri dish and expressed as percentage of viability. The results showed both cocoons production and cocoon viablity of the worms decreased significantly by the increasing concentration of the pesticide given (α = 0.05). Thus, it can be conclusively suggested that carbofuran (Furadan 3G) highly harmful to earthworm Pheretima javanica, even at low concentrations adversely affect growth and reproduction of the worms.