Mohammad Al-Allan, Wissam Mal1, Walid Al-Housa1, Magda Mofleh2* and Hanan Habbak2
1 General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Research Administration of Plant protection, Damascus, Syria.
2 General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Lattakia Research Center, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Magda Mofleh: magda.mofleh@yahoo.com.).
Received: 24/ 10/ 2025 Accepted: 12/ 1/ 2026
Abstract
The study was conducted at the Betima Research Station of the Agricultural Scientific Research Center in rural Damascus, Syria, on fig trees during the 2023-2024 growing season. Its aim was to compare the effectiveness of several pesticides in controlling the fig wax scale insect. Ceroplastes rusci L The experiment included five treatments: control, spraying with chemical pesticides: Deltamethrin, Chloropyrifos, Paydur and a locally pesticide is potassium soap. The results showed a decrease in the average number of fig wax insects one day after spraying, recording 90.6 ± 18.4 ,84.1 ± 19.6, 16.6 ± 7.3, 9.3 ± 5.1 insects/leaf respectively, compared to the number of insects in the control, which amounted to 163 ± 19.5 insects/leaf. The effect of the pesticides persisted two days after spraying in all treatments, while the insects resumed their activity a week after spraying, with variations between treatments. The effect of both potassium soap and Paydur reduced insect populations, with values of (11.7 ± 6.1 , 30.4 ± 10.4 insects/leaf) respectively, while the numbers increased for both Deltamethrin and Chloropyrifos recorded 206.6 ± 25.2 and 179.6 ± 25.5 insects/leaf respectively, and the most effective pesticide one day after spraying was potassium soap with an efficiency of 93%, followed by Paydur 86% and the pesticides Deltamethrin and Chloropyrifos (58% and 48%, respectively) showed significant differences between treatments. The pesticide effect persisted for one week after spraying with Potassium soap, followed by Paydur With an effectiveness of (94, 82%) respectively, while the effectiveness of the pesticides Deltamethrin and Chloropyrifos decreased to 32, 21% respectively, with significant differences between the treatments.
Keywords: Ceroplastes rusci L., Potassium soap, pesticides, effectiveness, Rural Damascus.
Full paper in Arabic: PDF