Mini-PeTa: Group Task

Leader: Barcelon, Charles Arvie M. Date:

Members: Group No.: 7
1. Anunciacion, Aihren James D. Year & Section: 10–St. Albert
2. Cordero, Mikee T.
3. Corpuz, Randy Jr. M.
4. Cruz, Jian Akira C.

Activity 4: A Review of Literature of My Study

Learning Target: Make a literature review of own study
References:
(Write your references here.)
Concept Note: According to Machi and McEvoy (2009), literature review has six
processes: 1) select a topic; 2) search the literature; 3) develop your argument;
4) survey the literature; 5) critique the literature; and 6) write the review.

Instruction: Look for literature review of your study. Your literature review should
come from different sources then paraphrase the paragraph with proper citation.

Rule: 1 member = 2 RRLs

Your score will be graded based on:

Criteria Beginner Standard Outstanding Score
1 2-3 4-5
Review of Included irrelevant literature Included very few/limited Included relevant and
Related relevant review of related adequate literature each
Literature literature
Citations Incorrectly presented Few/minimal incorrect Correctly presented the
citations citations were presented citations
Reference References were presented Few/minimal corrections Presented the references
s incorrectly; failed to follow were found correctly; followed the APA
the APA format format

Note:
1. You need to discuss first your RRLs before encoding them. Assess them if
they are appropriate as a support in this study. Proper arrangement of RRLs
should be considered. Use APA format also.
Answer:

Pencil Shaving as Cheap Recyclable Insect Deterrent

According to Mala (2020), to produce 14 billion traditional wooden pencils,

about 82,000 trees are cut down every year. In addition, wastes from pencils, i.e.
unused materials like metal caps and pencil shavings are mostly unused. Little
do we know that pencil shavings can actually be recycled for greater use,
especially in the aspect of agriculture. According to Perlado (2018), during the
months of July and September in the year 2018, pesticides in the Region III of
the Philippines costs from as cheap as 70 PHP per 50 grams up to 720 PHP.
This is where the proposal of pencil shavings as cheap recyclable pesticides
comes. The plan involves creating a viable alternative to pesticides in a cheap
and biodegradable way and further reducing inorganic substances seen in
pesticides that are sold in the market.

For the plan to potentially work, knowledge about a possible material to be

used should be practiced. Softwood, such as pine trees, spruce trees and cedar
trees are the woods commonly used to make pencil casings, with cedars being
the most used wood (Mala, 2020). This shows the wide availability of cedarwood
in the public since it was stated that cedarwood is the most commonly used
softwood material in pencil casings. In addition, Himalayan cedarwood oil
(Cedrus deodara) has shown insecticidal activity and caused a fast knockdown
effect to test subjects such as houseflies (Musca domestica), and 97.5%
mortality rate against pulse beetles (Callosobruchus chinensis) (Bindhu et al.,
2015). This shows the possibility of the properties of cedarwood to be utilized as
an insecticide since it was stated that the oil of cedarwood has effects resembling
market-made insecticides and its knockdown effects on insects. However,
additional observation and testing must be conducted if cedar wood can possess
qualities of deterrents sold for the masses and see if it doesn’t have any harmful
side-effects to the environment, to animals, or to people.

Plants are destroyed and eventually die because of insects. Direct feeding
on above-ground and below-ground plant parts take up a large portion of plant
damages caused by insects (Barbercheck, 2011). This can take effect on large
crops and fields that can cause crop productions to decrease, possibly affecting
the economy. In fact, according to Ray (2019), this issue is further worsened by
the ongoing problem of climate change, with global rice field production reducing
to an average of 0.3% every year. This is a concerning issue which pushed the
study regarding this topic. Burdening this issue is the continuous price increase
of agricultural products, affected by yearly inflation rates and extreme climates.
To help resolve this problem in an inexpensive way, pencil shavings can be a
viable alternative to deter insects from destroying the plants as previous
statements gave its potential on deterring insects.
 All in all, pencils–a highly accessible product which can be found in almost
every household (Long, 2020), and pencil shavings–the alleged “waste” in
pencils, may actually help to back up the issue of crop decrease. Add to the fact
that with its low-cost pricing, with a suggested retail price of 85 PHP for a 12-
pack, the low cost and availability of pencils are very easy to reach and
accessible to the masses. To successfully determine its effectiveness, we have
to try it to actual insects to see if it will actually deter them which shouldn’t take
long as tropical countries, like the Philippines, have a lot of mosquitos (“Worst
Places”, 2014). This research will help countries that are widely affected by
mosquito-borne diseases with the continent of Africa having the highest rate of
deaths worldwide (90%) due to malaria (WHO, 2018). Addition to this, a lot of
tropical countries and continents in the world actually belong to the poorest parts
of the globe (Considine, 2012). With this fact, this finding will be perfect for those
who can’t afford to buy expensive insect deterrents.

References:

Barbercheck, M. E. (2011). Ecological understanding of insects in organic farming

systems: How insects damage plants. Retrieved from
https://eorganic.org/node/3151

Bindhu, V. R., Ganga, S. & Dayanan, S. (2015). Mortality effects of some medicinal
plants on the pulse beetle callosobruchus chinensis. Journal of Biofertilizers &
Biopesticides, 6(1), 1.

Considine, A. (2012). Disease is still a major reason why tropical economies are so
poor. Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en/article/bmmv83/holidays-in-hell-
study-says-disease-a-determining-factor-in-poor-tropical-economies

Long, T. (2020). Elements found in household products. Retrieved from

https://sciencing.com/elements-found-in-household-products-13419030.html

Mala, A. (2020). How many trees are cut down each year to make pencils? Retrieved
from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-trees-are-cut-down-each-
year-to-make-pencils.html

Perlado, E. P. (2018). Current prices of pesticides per region. Retrieved from

http://fpa.da.gov.ph/images/FPAfiles/DATA/Prices/2018/July-September-
(FertilizerPesticide).pdf
Ray, D. (2019). Climate change is affecting crop yields and reducing global food
supplies. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-affecting-
crop-yields-and-reducing-global-food-supplies-118897

World Health Organization (2018). Malaria. Retrieved from

https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/malaria

Worst places in the world for mosquitos. (2014, July 12). Retrieved from
https://www.mosquitosquad.com/greater-dc/about-us/blog/2014/july/worst-
places-in-the-world-for-mosquitoes/