Quality of beans stored under hermetic conditions

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) stored with different moisture contents under hermetic conditions. Beans with 12.3%, 15.7%, and 17.8% moisture content were used in the experiment. They were packed in bag type silos (3 kg), PET bottles (1.5 L), and glass containers (3 L), covered with organza fabric (control), and stored at 25 ºC and 70±5% relative humidity, for 120 days. The evaluated characteristics included moisture content, apparent density, electrical conductivity, germination percentage, cooking time, and bean classification, every 30 days. Except for the electrical conductivity and cooking time, the other characteristics were kept for 120 days in the stored product with moisture contents of 12.3% and 15.7% in hermetic conditions. Beans with 17.8% of the moisture content, electrical conductivity and cooking time increased, and apparent density and germination were reduced. Beans stored in the control, with any of the moisture contents, showed high quality loss during the long storage. It was concluded that it is possible to storage beans with moisture contents of 12.3% and 15.7%, with quality, for until 120 days, in hermetic conditions

Diatomaceous earth effects on weevils with different susceptibility standard to phosphine Efeito da terra de diatomácea sobre carunchos com diferentes padrões de susceptibilidade à fosfina

The aim of this study was to evaluate the insecticide activity of diatomaceous earth (DE), at different temperatures, on two populations of Tribolium castaneum and Rhyzopertha dominica previously diagnosed as resistant and susceptible to phosphine. The efficiency of DE in the control of the insects was evaluated at temperatures of 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 ± 2 ºC. The experiments were accomplished in Petri dishes containing 35 g of whole-wheat grain treated with DE in the dose of 1.0 kg t-1. The control was constituted by untreated wheat grain. Each Petri dish was infested with 30 adult insects. Insect mortality was registered seven days after the beginning of the bioassays. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The populations of T. castaneum and R. dominica, respectively, resistant and susceptible to phosphine have similar susceptibility patterns. The mortality of two populations of T. castaneum increased with increasing temperature. For R. dominica, the mortality did not change with the temperature.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a atividade inseticida da terra de diatomácea (TD), em diferentes temperaturas, em relação a duas populações de Tribolium castaneum e Rhyzopertha dominica previamente diagnosticadas como resistentes e susceptíveis à fosfina. A eficiência da TD foi avaliada nas temperaturas de 20, 25, 30, 35 e 40 ± 2 ºC e os experimentos foram realizados em placas de Petri contendo 35 g de grãos inteiros de trigo, tratados com TD na dose de 1,0 kg t-1. O controle foi constituído de grãos de trigo não tratados; ressalta-se que cada placa de Petri foi infestada com 30 insetos adultos, cuja mortalidade foi contabilizada sete dias após o início dos bioensaios. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com três repetições. As populações de T. castaneum e R. dominica, respectivamente, resistentes e susceptíveis à fosfina apresentaram padrões de susceptibilidade semelhantes; por outro lado, a mortalidade das duas populações de T. castaneum aumentou com a elevação da temperatura embora para R. dominica a mortalidade não tenha variado com a temperatura