Review of Moringa oleifera Insect Pests and Control Methods

Moringa oleifera is a small perennial evergreen or deciduous plant species, native to the Himalayan regions of Northwestern India, which highly adapt to arid and sandy loam soil conditions. As a multiply-use and fast-growing plant species, each part of the plant has its special utilization value. Therefore, M. oleifera has been extensive development and application prospects. With the increasing cultivation area of M. oleifera, diseases and insect pests become a bottleneck which restricts the further development of M. oleifera industry. Insect pests on M. oleifera and their damages and management have been reviewed and discussed in this paper based on previous researches worldwide to improve the quality and quantity of M. oleifera production. There are more than 40 main pest species found on M. oleifera, which can cause damages to different parts and development stages of M. oleifera. The most severe damage is to the roots and leaves. It is recommended that from the ecology and health perspectives, integrated pest management should be carried out with regard to management of these pests, using agricultural, physical and biological control methods.