Response of Potential Stored Grain Insect Pests to BFL 225 Multi-Attractant Lure in Commercial Warehouses.

Farmers generally store their harvested products to ensure a continuous food supply for their household, provide seed for subsequent crops and farm, and as a source of income because it allows farmers to sell the products for cash or to exchange it for other products. But the introduction of new crop varieties, satisfying primarily an increased yield, has led to a contemporary selection of plants susceptible to infestation by insects, due to a loss of resistance to insect attack. Studies were conducted to determine the efficacy of traps baited with the kairomone BFL 225 multi-attractant lure for the detection and monitoring of storage insect pests into commercial warehouses in southern Nigeria for ten months. This trapping experiment demonstrated that floor traps baited with BFL 225 lure significantly (P< 0.001) captured insects compared to the unbaited (control). The predominant insects captured include Sitophilus spp., Plodia interpunctella, Tribolium castaneum, Callosobruchus maculatus, Alphitobius laevigatus and Rhyzopertha dominica. The implication of his study is that BFL 225 could be utilized as a part of integrated pest management strategies for early detection of potential insect pests migrating into stored grain warehouses in tropical Africa. Keywords: Baited traps, storage pests, kairomone, monitoring, warehouses

Evaluation of the Insecticidal and Deterrence Properties of Pepper Fruit, Dennetia tripetala (G. Baker) and Ginger Zingiber officinale Roscoe against Maize Weevil Sitophilus zeamais (Motsch.)

Laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate the insecticidal and deterrent properties of pepper fruits (Dennetia tripetala) and ginger (Zangiber officinale) against maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais. One hundred grams of maize were weighed into 500ml kilner jar and treated with 0%, 1%, 5% and 10% powders each of D. tripetala and Z. officinale in a 4x4 factorial combinations on weight by weight (w/w) basis. The experiments were laid out in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) and replicated four times. Results showed significant (P<0.05) percentage mean adult mortality of 13.34, 15.34 and 16.33 post treatment with D. tripetala and 11.33, 14.33 and 18.7 post treatment with Z. officinale at 10% after 24, 48 and 72h respectively over other levels. At 5%, the percentage adult mortality was significantly higher than at 1% and the control after 72 hours post exposure. Significantly (P<0.05) higher percentage adult mortality was also observed in the 10% combinations of the tested plant products of 4, 5.33 and 5.67 after 24, 48 and 72 hours of storage for D. tripetala and Z. officinale respectively. Also, significantly (P<0.05) higher adult mortality 1065.66 and 1070.33 were observed on Z. officinale and D. tripetala treated seeds after 10 weeks storage period. The 10% treatment combination of the tested powders also showed significantly (P<0.05) higher adult mortality, which was however, not significantly different(P>0.05)  from the 10% D. tripetala and 5% Z. officinale and also10% Z. officinale and 5% D. tripetala. Significantly (P<0.05) higher percentage adult deterrence of 46.53% was obtained when 10% D. tripetala was applied compared to the other levels. Significant (P<0.05) reduction in the number of adults that emerged was observed when treatment concentrations increases. The studies showed that extracts of Z. officinale and D. tripetala can be used effectively singly or in combination as grain protectants in stored maize for the management of S. zeamais. Keywords: Dennetia tripetala, Sitophilus zeamais, mortality, deterrence, protectant

Analysis of insect populations in stored crops in Cross River State, Nigeria

No Abstract. Global Journal of Pure and Applied Physics Vol. 14 (1) 2008 pp. 31-3

Notes on the biology of Oryctes monoceros (OLIV.) A pest of palms in Nigeria

Studies on the biology of the rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes monoceros Oliv. was conducted in the laboratory. O. monoceros has 3 larval instars. In the mean the egg stage lasted 11, the larval stages 75.6, the pupal stage 15.5 and the adults stage 51.6 days. The mean developmental period from egg to adult for O. monoceros was 145 days. The beetle lives for about 5 months of which between 2-3 months are spent as a larva. Keywords: Oryctes monoceros, Oviposition, Larvae, Pupation, Moulting. [Global Jnl Agric Res Vol.2(1) 2003: 33-36

Competition in the Parasitization of Callosobruchus maculatus between Dinarmus basalis and Choetospila elegans on Vigna unguiculata (Walp.) Seeds

Laboratory study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of hymenopteran parasitoids, (Dinarmus basalis and Choetospila elegans) parasitization of Callosobruchus maculatus on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seeds in the Department of Crop Science, University of Calabar, Nigeria. Treatments were the inoculation of D. basalis (sole), C. elegans (sole), a mixture of D. basalis and C. elegans into infested cowpea seeds and the control which received no parasitoids. The introduction of parasitoids was repeated at 3 d interval, and all treatments were replicated 3 times. Result indicated that early introduction of the parasitoids caused significantly (P ? 0.05) higher mortality of C.maculatus than late introduction. Mix culture of both parasitoids was significantly more efficacious than sole culture. The emergence of each parasitoid and the mortality of C. maculatus in sole culture showed a highly significant (P ? 0.01) positive relationship (r = 0.487) between C. maculatus and D. basalis but non-significant (P ? 0.05) though positive association (r = 0.289) with C. elegans. A multiple regression analysis between C. maculatus mortality and the emergence of the two parasitoids in mix culture also indicated a highly positive significant (P ? 0.01) relationship (R = 0.751, R2 = 0.564). Pearson Correlation analysis also showed a significant (P ? 0.05) positive association (r = 0.464, and 0.401) between C. maculatus mortality and emergence of C. elegans and D. basalis in mix culture, respectively. However, a non significant (P ? 0.05) negative relationship (r = -0.336) was observed between the two parasitoids in their emergence in mix culture, but D. basalis contributed more to the mortality of C. maculatus than C. elegans. Data from this study showed that D. basalis and C. elegans have potentials to be deployed as biological control entities in the management of C. maculatus as a part of the integrated pest management strategies of storage pests in the tropics

Alligator pepper, Aframomum melegueta, and ginger, Zingiber officinale, reduce stored maize infestation by the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais in traditional African granaries

Alligator pepper, Aframomum melegueta (Roscoe) K. Schum, and ginger, Zingiber officinale Roscoe were tested for their efficacy in protecting stored maize cobs (Zea mays L.) against the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, in traditional maize storage barn conditions, from November 2006 to February 2007, and November 2009 to February 2010 in Obudu, Southeast Nigeria. A randomised complete block design was used in each storage barn with four treatments (maize, maize plus A. melegueta, maize plus Z. officinale, maize plus A. melegueta and Z. officinale) replicated 4 times. When used in combination with stored maize cobs at a level of 10% (w/w), A. melegueta and Z. officinale significantly reduced S. zeamais populations from cobs (P < 0.001), as did a combination of A. melegueta and Z. officinale (5% w/w each, P < 0.001). Furthermore, significantly higher seed germination was observed in treated cobs compared with the untreated cobs in both trials (P < 0.001). Protection of cereals with such repellent materials has important practical applications in parts of the world where insecticides are expensive or in short supply, and where these materials are cheap and readily available for local use by resource-poor farmers. In addition, the use of repellents to protect stored maize grains has the potential for minimising the requirement for broad-spectrum toxic insecticides, thereby reducing the development of insecticide resistance.&nbsp