AGRICULTURE AND BIOLOGY JOURNAL OF NORTH AMERICA A survey on methods used in the storage of some varieties of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) and their effect on quality (A case study in Ejura- Sekyedumase District)

ABSTRACT This survey was carried out in the Ejura-Sekyedumase District of the Ashanti region in Ghana to assess the effect of storage methods on cowpea grains of "Uganda", "Mallam yaya" and "Mallam adamu" which were identified as the most popular cultivated varieties among several varieties. Farmers either placed grains in hermetic bags for storage or treated them with phostoxin or actellic and placed them in poly sacks or jute sacks. Laboratory tests carried out on crude protein content, crude fibre content, crude fat content, moisture content, mineral ash content, change in weight per 50 grains and weevil infestation per 50 grains (p < 0.01) indicated a general reduction in the quality in all varieties per these parameters after storage. Level of reduction in quality was mainly affected by the extent of infestation and activities of the cowpea storage weevil Callosobruchus maculatus

Development of Bait for the Management of Coffee Bean Weevil, Araecerus fasciculatus in Stored Cocoa

An experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of the Horticulture Department of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology between January and March, 2012 within temperature and humidity ranges of 18–32°C and 63–85%, respectively. The purpose of the investigation was to develop an effective insecticidal cassava bait to control insect pests of cocoa in storage using Araecerus fasciculatus (De Geer) as model species.  A completely randomized design was used for the study. It was conducted in a five-roomed glass cage of 60 cm x 60 cm x 200 cm with the backside made of a net to improve aeration in the cage. It was observed that A. fasciculatus preferred sun-dried chips to fresh chips, fermented dough, flour and cocoa beans and that soaking of sun-dried chips in brown sugar solution of 500 g per litre of water further enhanced the preference. Deltamost emerged superior to Fastrack and Confidor insecticides by registering 4–6 minutes of lethal time, 21–30 days persistence and attract-and-kill potential of 76.7 – 86.7% of infested bagged cocoa beans. However, cassava bait at 25% of Deltamost insecticide was at equal strength (p < 0.05) with the 50 and 75% of the label dosage and should be the obvious choice for the insecticidal cassava bait preparation