CHILI PEPPER (CAPSICUM ANNUUM) AS AN ALTERNATIVE PESTICIDE

A Science Investigatory Project

Present to

South Philippine Adventist College

Junior Academy

By:

Salazar, Carlos Miguel A.

Alcebar, Ceazar D.

Legaspi, Christian Jade B.

Golosino, Jad D.

Carpina, Khea Angela O.

Tanquis, Philip Roy C.

Alpeche, Princess Heart C.

Tamdang, Von Kyle O.

Piamonte, Chlyzterjyl B.

November, 2022
 INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Pests are unwanted intruders in our homes for multiple reasons; they smell, and

they make people uncomfortable (or scared even).A pest is an organism that man sees

as harmful or annoying. Pests many affect man, animals, environment, or property.

Some pests live closer to us than the ones on our crops. A pest is a creature that is

detrimental to human or human controlled interests including the cultivation of crops and

the rearing and domestication of animals. The ways in which pests cause detriment to

human interests are specific to each pest itself. Pests are widespread in nature and are

often considered as a nuisance both in agriculture and in domestic life (“Pest, 2018).

Pests like vectors, other insects, rodents, or bacteria can spread or cause

serious, even fatal diseases. Diseases are not the only threat that pests pose to

humans. Many rodents and insects can cause allergies and some have poisonous

venom that can hurt, and sometimes kill, people.One's health is not the only thing that

gets affected. Even on agriculture and the economy in general. As well as your plants or

lawn. Pests also destroy the habitat of other organisms as well as natural resources,

leading to reductions in water quality, increases in soil erosion and degradation of land,

and the destruction of native plants that provide food and shelter to native species or

those endemic to the place. (“Pest and there negative effect”, n.d.).

Using pesticides is one method people tend to use because it is very effective,

not really minding whether it will affect their health or not, just so they can repel those
troublesome pest.Capsaicin is the main chemical that makes chili peppers

hot.Capsaicin is a hydrophobic substance, which acts on epithelial cells of animals. It is

not poisonous and naturally occurs in the environment as a defense mechanism (Jared

Ed M. Lacar, 2019).As a result, the study was carried out in order to use capsaicin as

an ingredient to create a pesticide that is safe to use, inexpensive, and environmentally

beneficial.

As individuals who continue to face the harmful effects of pests in their home or

garden, we, the researchers, believe that this study is essential in order to shed light on

their impact on every one of us.This research hopes to repel, if not eliminate, those

troublesome pests without the use of chemical pesticides.Similar studies using the chili

pepper as an alternative pesticide have been conducted, however the majority of them

were restricted, required payment, and lacked a summary of the entire study. Despite

the fact that one article had the abstart of the entire study, it stated that using chili

peppers as an alternative pesticide is at least somewhat plausible and that the insect

was only successfully eliminated by chance. Since there are only a few pieces of proof,

the researchers made the decision to work on this study to determine whether it is truly

effective or not.According to our observations, many people complain about the impacts

of bugs in their home or lawn, stating that they spread diseases, ruin property, and

moreover disturb them. Since it has been shown the negative impacts of pest, this study

seeks to make people more aware of pests and explore the potential all-natural

pesticides.
 Statement of the Problem

This study is all about determining theeffectiveness of using Chili Pepper (Capsicum

Annuum) as a pesticide.In addition, the researchers aims to unlock the following

queries:

1. Is chili pepper (Capsicum annum) that effective as an alternative pesticides?

 Is there any disadvantages of using this strategy?

2. How long does it take for the chili pepper's (Capsicum annum) effects to kick in?

 Minutes

 An Hour

 24 Hours

3. Survival times of the same pests at low, average, and high concentrations of chilli

pepper pesticide.

 Low

 Average

 High

Significance of the Study

The study is important because it offers fresh information about the use of chili peppers

(Capsicum annum) as pesticides. Moreover, the following can gain from the study:

1. Students pursuing a career in agriculture. They will benefit from this because

they are already aware of how chili peppers function as an alternative pesticide.
 Their understanding of the effects of chili pepper pesticide mixture will be helped

by this study.

2. Farmer and Gardener. They will learn about and understand the results of

utilizing a chili pepper pesticide mixture due to this study. And what impact it will

have on both the plants and the pests. If this study is effective, the researchers

believed it might be beneficial for people to prevent dangerous diseases brought

on by pests.This will also let them knowthat it is beneficial in some ways because

the chili pepper is natural and more convenient.

3. Household. They will benefit from this because now they can use this as an

alternative pesticide instead of those synthetic pesticides. It will not cause them

any harm, especially to children because it is a natural pesticide made with chili

pepper.

Scope and Limitations

This study's primary goal is to analyze the efficiency of chili peppers (Capsicum annum)

as pesticides.A commercial pesticide and an alternative pesticide using capsaicin as the

active component will both be put to the test. Two things will need to be tested and taken

into account in the development.The 3 common pest will be used in this study which are

ants, grasshoppers, and snails.The first survival period of common pests when sprayed

with alternative pesticides with low, average, and high capsaicin concentrations. The same

common bugs were sprayed with a commercial pesticide at the same quantities as in the

first experiment, and then the survival time will be measured.