EFFECT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES TO THE DIET

OF ONION ARMYWORMS/CUTWORMS

DAN CHARLIE JOY CAMARA PANGILINAN

MS IN CROP PROTECTION

2018
 EFFECT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES TO THE DIET
OF ONION ARMYWORMS/ CUTWORMS

Onion (Allium cepa L.), domestically known as “sibuyas”, is the largest and

important representative genus of the Liliaceae family comprises 450 species. It is a

bulbous plant widely cultivated in almost every country of the world (Humayun et. al,

2010). In the Philippines, it is usually planted as second crop to rice during the dry season

(Alberto et al., 2001). Due to their ability to be grown in both tropical and temperate

regions, the growing and handling of onions has received considerable attention in

agricultural research and development (FAO, 2003).

Onion industry was one of the largest contributors in domestic vegetable earnings

amounting to Php. 2.1B in 2006 (DA, 2013). In 2013, it registered a total production of

134,169.92 MT with an average yield of 8.70 MT/Ha.

However, the upward fluctuation trend of country’s production in yield per

hectare decreased from 8.75 MT in 2009 to 8.70 MT in 2013 (PSA, 2014) and according

to BAS (2012), its production went further down by 2.95% in this period. In general, this

decrease in production among all regions in Luzon Cluster is attributed to major causes

which include bad weather conditions and pest outbreaks (DA, 2014). One of the major

pests that has been ravaging onions are the cutworms/armyworms which have been

reported since 2016 in Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan (24 hectares) and Ilocos Sur (22

hectares). This infestation had raised the alarm declaring some of the town in Nueva
Ecija in State of Calamity. Due to the reported infestation, immediate action was done

through monitoring the area in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija with the Regional Crop

Protection Center technical staff and LGU-municipal agriculturist concerned. Actual field

validation was undertaken (BPI, 2017). Many recommendations which includes

biological, traditional, chemical and even non-categorical management methods has been

put into action but as of with my personal experience, none has been really proven

effective; as the infestation still persists.

Thus, a search for alternative low-cost management agent which involves

commonly distributed materials or ingredients are the topic of this study. One most

recognizable household name that may have possible remedy to the pest is alcoholic

beverages. Alcohol (ethanol or ethyl alcohol) is the ingredient found in beer, wine and

spirits that causes drunkenness. In all three, the alcohol is produced by the same chemical

process. The sugar and water found in ripe fruits, grains or vegetables is combined with

yeast and fermented to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Alcohol is a poor source of carbohydrates compared to some foods, but it has a lot

of energy (kilojoules (kJ)/calories) packed into it. It is the alcohol itself that is high in

energy. One gram of alcohol has 27 kJ compared to one gram of sugar with 17 kJ. One

standard drink (e.g. 100ml of wine, 30ml of spirits or 330ml of beer) contains 290kJ/69

calories. Moreover, Alcoholic beverages do not contain significant amounts of protein

and vitamins, which are vital ingredients of the human diet, and so alcohol, cannot be

regarded as a substitute for food.

 Most alcohols are highly poisonous to humans, but ethyl alcohol can be tolerated

in the human body in small amounts. When people start drinking they initially feel

relaxation and pleasure. As the blood alcohol level rises, it slows the body’s reactions

down. This is why it’s classified as a sedative-hypnotic drug. People can get into trouble

when they drink a lot of alcohol very quickly – this may result in alcohol poisoning.

When alcohol is swallowed it passes more or less unchanged into the bloodstream

through the walls of the stomach and small intestine. Only minutes after drinking, the

circulation system begins distributing the alcohol to every part of the body. From the

stomach and the intestine, the alcohol travels to the liver where it is ultimately broken

down by enzymes into other products such as water and carbon dioxide. These products

are mainly eliminated from the body in the urine. The liver does this job at a slow,

constant rate. It takes the average person one hour to process one standard drink. So when

people drink alcohol faster than the liver breaks it down, alcohol concentration increases

in the blood. As the alcohol travels around the body via the bloodstream, it starts to slow

down the operation of various sorts of cells. This causes the familiar symptoms of

different stages of intoxication and drunkenness – relaxation, laughter, slurred speech,

inability to walk straight, and impaired judgement and coordination (Health Promotion

Agency, 2016).

With those information cramping above and the thought that

armyworms/cutworms and humans could share similar taste for alcoholic beverages the

idea that onions secured with alcoholic beverage could prevent further infestation of the

pests. As armyworms/cutworms are very hard to prevent; as their eggs are layed on the
grounds, very hard to manage with direct contact spraying of chemicals to their

integuments, and they are almost immortal; feeding on pesticide bombarded leaves of

onions without getting hurt, there is a possibility that we can manage them with the use of

alcoholic beverages with higher proofing. The pests are known to be voracious feeders

overnight and have no functioning organ the same as the human liver which could have

filter those alcohols through their blood stream and out as urine. That is why maybe, by

getting them “drunk” and loosed with their systems coordination they can collapse and

die of alcohol poisoning.

Objectives of the Study

This study will be conducted: (a) to determine the effect of different alcoholic

beverages (beer, gin, rum) to armyworm/cutworms diet/digestion; (b) to determine the

capability of different alcoholic beverages protect onion plants from armyworm/cutworm

infestation; and (c) to determine which alcoholic beverages are the most effective in

affecting digestion/diet of armyworms/cutworms and effective in protecting onion plants.

 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Conceptual Framework

Five armyworms/cutworms will be used in each of the four treatments which

includes Treatment I (larvae given a diet of cut onion leaves), Treatment II (larvae given

a diet of cut onion leaves dipped with gin), Treatment III (larvae given a diet of cut onion

leaves dipped with beer) and Treatment IV (larvae given a diet of cut onion leaves dipped

with rum) for a total of 20 larvae of pests for diets experiment.

Five potted onion plants will be used in each of the four treatments which

includes Treatment I (onion plants sprayed everyday with water only), Treatment II

(onion plants sprayed everyday with water then gin), Treatment III (onion plants sprayed

everyday with water then beer) and Treatment IV (onion plants sprayed everyday with

water then rum) for a total of 20 potted onion plants for protection experiment.

Data regarding the reactions and other significant observations will be noted for

the experiments on larvae’s diets everyday and the degree of damage caused by larvae to

the onion plants will be measured using Table 1 and will be tabulated in Table 2.

Collection of samples and materials

Armyworms/cutworms will be collected in the onion fields of Dolores, Sto.

Domingo, Nueva Ecija. Onion plants will be grown or transplanted on pots. Alcoholic

beverages will be bought on local stores.

Table 1. Armyworm/cutworm damage scale and description on onion plants.
Scale Description
No Damage No observable damage like cut or skeletonization caused by
armyworms/cutworms from the leaves down to the bulb.
Low Damage Observable damage like cut or skeletonization caused by
armyworms/cutworms on ¼ of the total length of the plants
leaves starting from the leaf tip.
Moderate Damage Observable damage like cut or skeletonization caused by
armyworms/cutworms from 1/2 of the total length of the plants
leaves starting from the leaf tip down to neck.
High Damage Observable damage like cut or skeletonization caused by
armyworms/cutworms from leaves, necks and bulb of the onion
plants.

Table 2. Sample sheet for the data of damage caused by armyworms/cutworms.

DAY TREATMENT PLANT NO. SCALE

I 3

4
One
5

2 2

(so on)
Data Analysis and Correlation

Data gathered will be statistically analyzed using R software (R i386 3.2.4

Revised) to generate, means, modes, standard deviations and coefficient of variation that

will be then used to compute and generate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA

will then be used to generate Least Significant Difference (LSD) to have fair comparison

of sample in each treatment. The data will be then correlated with existing published

information from literatures to further justify the effect of different alcoholic beverages in

in the feeding diets/digestion of armyworms/cutworms and the capability of alcoholic

beverages to manage the pests.

 LITERATURE CITED

ALBERTO, R.T. 2014. Pathological response and biochemical changes in Allium cepa L.
(bulb onions) infected with anthracnose-twister disease. Plant Pathology &
Quarantine 4(1), 23–31, Doi10.5943/ppq/4/1/4

BAS. 2007. Costs and Returns of Onion Productions. Republic of the Philippines,
Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. July 2007.

BAS. 2012. Performance of Philippine Agriculture. Republic of the Philippines,

Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. ISSN-2012-0451.

CLARRDEC. 2007. Major diseases of onion: A field guide. Central Luzon Agriculture
and Resources Research and Development Consortium (CLARRDEC). A field
guide. Los Baños, Laguna: PCARRDDOST, CLARRDEC-CLSU. 18p. -
(CLARRDEC Farm Primer No. 02/2007)

DA, 2014. 2004. Department of Agriculture; Luzon A Cluster. Value chain analysis and
competitiveness strategy: Bulb onion. Philippine Rural Development Project. I-
Plan Component Luzon A Cluster. pp. 7-33

DA.2013. Onion Production Guide. Republic of the Philippines, Department of

Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry.

FAO, 2003. ONIONS: Post-Harvest Operation. Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations. pp. 2-15.

HANNAN, T. HUMAYUN, M. HUSSAIN, M. YASIR AND S. SIKANDAR, "In vitro

antibacterial activity of onion (Allium cepa) against clinical isolates of Vibrio
cholera", J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad, vol. 22 no. 2, pp. 160163, 2010.

Health Promotion Agency. 2016. Alcohol & you; facts & effects. Retrieved at
https://www.alcohol.org.nz/sites/default/files/field/file_attachment/AL002_Facts_
%26_effects_LR_May%202016.pdf Retrived on February 20, 2018.

PSA. 2014. Crops Statistics of the Philippines. Philippine Statistics Authority (Bureau of
Agricultural Statistics). September 2014. ISSN-2012-0487