Banana (Musa

acuminata) Peeling
Decoction as Termite
Killer

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

RESEARCH CAPSTONE

THE RESEARCHERS:
GROUP 4
JEDSON ANDRES
ZYRYL O. GUIMMAYEN
JERRY CABRERA
ROMEO KRISKER JULIAN
JM PALAD
INTRODUCTION

The aim of this project is to create an organic insecticide to control or

eradicate termite problems. Termites has been a long problem to house owners,
especially to those who own any wood furniture of some sorts. A creative strategy
that brought by the researcher would want to make a product that deals to the
problem. The researchers provided a brief explanations about its topic.

Termites are small insect, found chiefly from tropical areas, that is very
destructive to timber popularly called white ant, but not of the ant family. Due to their
small size they are able to fit into small spaces and inflict damage to furniture.

A banana tree is a fruit bearing tree producing an elongated, edible fruit.

Banana is one of the oldest cultivated plant due to its medicinal applications. The
banana peel and pulp of the fully ripe one possesses the principles of anti fungal and
antibiotic that acts against Mycobacteria. Banana is the common name for herbaceous
plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they bear and produce. The fruit varies in
size, color and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved with soft flesh rich in
starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple or brown when
ripe. Banana are produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the
genus Musa. Banana is a tropical palm like plant that bears bananas, having very large
leaves but lacks of a woody trunk.

The purpose of the study is to prevent furniture from deteriorating, with the
use of the organic insecticide that the researchers wants to create. And to teach people
to be mindful and responsible to their environment. This will also benefits household
owners who owns any wooden furniture at home.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
Termites are known as “silent destroyers” because of their ability to chew
through wood, flooring and even wallpaper undetected. Any of various small, whitish,
isopterous, social insects native in warm regions, several species of which are very
destructive of wooden structures,furniture, etc. There are about 2,000 known termite
species in the world. Each year, termites cause more than $5 billion in property
damage. The damage to buildings by termites in tropical countries has been serious
concern for a long time.

Philippine furniture is one of the priority export products given assistance and
support by the government. Export has grown at an annual average of 11% in the last
ten years. In fact, it has made significant inroads in the highly competitive export
market. Developments in the industry have also seen the increase in the number of
production infrastructures and highly skilled craftsmen and man power supporting the
surging growth of the industry. But these kinds of products are prone to terminate
infestation. If not properly treated, these pieces of furniture will decline in quality and
life span, eventually affecting the quantity of the supply and demand of these
products.

Aware of the devastating effect of terminates on wood furniture , the

researcher will investigate the effect of the use of banana peelings decoction as
terminate killer.

The termite infested furniture weakens through time and will affects it’s
lifespan due to the presence of termite on the furniture. If the termites are not control
or eradicated they’ll most likely to multiply and inflict more damage to the wooden
furniture. It will lead on the deterioration of the wooden furniture.

In this venture that the banana peelings decoction which is believed to kill
terminates is being investigated. Such investigation is a product of the researchers
intellectual curiosity based from the information and experiences shared by folks
which until now is still practiced and is becoming known in the locality.
LITERATURE REVIEW
For many, the banana peel has many benefits, you probably throw those peels.
Stop the waste and start using these peels to help boots your garden’s health and
nutrients. Some benefits includes as fertilizer, tea and insect trap. But one of those
benefits captured us, the banana peeling decoction as termite killer.

Banana
Adults need about 4700 mg. Potassium per day. Meeting this need will help
shoo away leg cramps. Potassium works well with diets low in sodium to help control
the fluid balance in your body. Be a banana lover. It is rich in potassium. Nature’s Ideal
Cures for Leg Cramps By TERESITA T. BALBUENA

Food for Beauty Sleep by TERESITA T. BALBUENA.

I am a banana fan! Fresh, boiled,fried,baked--whatever. Bananas are loaded
with potassium and magnesium that are considered natural muscle relaxants. Bananas
also contain tryptophan, an amino acid which get converted to serotonin(a relaxing
neurotransmitter) and melatonin that improves sleep.

Low energy?
Eat a banana a day. Science say that the potassium packed fruit is a great
source of magnesium a key element in producing and storing energy. -
Since 1959 HEALTH AND HOME The 2014 Book

According to the DIY everywhere, Cate Misczuk (Contributing Writer) in

order to mantain a healthy garden.soak a cut up banana peel with apple cider vinegar
and place it in a plastic container with holes on top just big enough to let a bug inside.
The smell with draw them in and the solution will trap them. Its a great nontoxic
opinion for both your garden and pets.

And according to the SEGATE , Caryn Anderson. Cut up banana peels to bury
1 to 2 inches deep on the soil around the plants that are prone to aphid infestations to
repel and remove aphids from the area. This willact as a repellent and a natural
fertilizer.
BANANA TANNIN/ TANNIN
The banana peel- the skin of the banana provides a high level of tannin
content. Which are a class of complex bio-molecules of polyphenolic nature
synthesized by a large variety of plants, in which they are used as a anti-predation or
pesticide agents.(Bio-polymers and Biotech Admixtures for Construction
Material,2016)

Phytochemical screening showed that banana peel contains tannins, alkaloids,

steroids, saponin, flavonoids, and carbohydrates. Banana peels have been reported a a
good source of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. The extracts of peels from
different cultivars of banana were observed to have good antioxidant activity, which
is correlated with the presence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. (Anti-fungal
and Antibacterial Activities of Musa paradisiaca L. peel extract : HPLC Analysis of
Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents, 2019)

Plant tannin, polyphenolic plant secondary metabolites are involved in

important chemical defence processes in plants. (Journal of Insect Science,2020).
Tannins play in the physiology of plants and tress and synthesize them, is their ability
to protect the plant from biotic and abiotic stress. The presence of tannins in the plant
tissues is important because of these compounds are efficient repellents against
predators and parasites.

Termites
Termites are mainly tropical and subtropical insects,comprising nearly 1800-
species in about 200genera. Common to warm and humid climates, they are also
found in North America and Southern Europe. Termites evolved from roach like
ancestors. They are the only insects other than bees, ants,and wasps to form true
societies. Know primarily for their destruction of wooden structures, termites can
also be agricultural pest.

All termites are herbivorous, and many fee on decaying wood. Termites are
able to digest cellulose, a carbohydrate found in plants, because of bacteria in their
intestine. Some species also have symbiotic protozoans in the gut. Many
subterranean or mound-building species cultivate fungi that help to breakdown plant
material that has been incorporated into “fungus gardens”.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

The banana tree and the fruit it bears has long been used in dealing medical
conditions but haven’t been used to how we are aiming for, banana as insecticide. One
of the common problems in each households are termites. On this study we intend to
create a solution that can help and provide an easy and affordable alternative for
insecticide. A substance to eradicate termites and prevent them from inflicting more
damage.

Each households own a wooden furniture whether a coffee table, cabinets,

drawers, dresser, and etc. These furnitures are the most vulnerable to termite attacks.
Termites are known for the name “Silent Destroyers” because of its ability to chew
through woods makes it next to impossible to track and determine the damage they
have inflicted.

In the country alone, termites inflicts an estimation of roughly 205,000 peso cost of
damage. Currently the cost of hire of pest control service in the country can cost
people over 80,000 peso depending on the area of infestation, and the size of the
property making it to expensive for other house owners. So the study aims to create
an easier and much affordable alternative for termite extermination.

The community wastes are also one of the problem when it comes to garbage. Due
to high unsolved garbage brought by plastic and toxic wastes the flood is an example
of result to this problem. To lessen this problem, the researchers recommends this
study to reuse banana peel instead of throwing it.

The study starts from gathering and preparing the materials the researchers will be
needing in order to accomplish the project. Followed by the peeling and slicing the
banana to smaller bits. Then putting the desired amount of water and weight of
banana peeling in the whistling kettle and boiling for three minutes. Followed by
cooling of the decocted concentrations, preparing the treatments. Then spraying the
concentrations to the termites and gathering data.
REFERENCES

*INTERNET

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa acuminata

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decoction

https://www.ehow.com/info 8365427 chemical-properties-banana-peel.html

https://diyerverywhere.com/2017/04/30/stop-throwing-out-banana-peels-hore-are-8-
effect-ways-to-use-them-in-the-garden/

https://scholar.google.com.ph/scholar_url?url=https://www.mdpi.com/2227-
9717/7/4/215/
pdf8hl=en&sa=X&ei=gc9DYv3NMMCP6rQP2ZOu6Ak8scisig=AAGBfm2vCgFgd3
oYSdfhN3Y9LgCuzKFi9Q&oi=scholar

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