Faheem Ahmad
COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Islamabad Pakistan
Title: Bioactivity of Common Plant Extracts against Rust-Red Flour Beetle - A Destructive Pest of Stored Grains
Biography
Biography: Faheem Ahmad
Abstract
Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is one of the major pests of stored grains. Due to export legislation for insect free trade, extensive use of synthetic insecticides is in practice. The residual persistence of chemical insecticides in food commodities, their detrimental effects on non-target species and environmental hazards, and above all resistance development in stored grain pests encourages evaluating alternative control methods. In this study we have compared bio-efficacy of common herb species including Allium sativum (Alliaceae), Zingiber officinale (Zingiberaceae), Cymbopogon citratus (Gramineae) and Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae) against T. castaneum infesting stored commodities. The results have suggested that A. sativum (garlic) and Z. officinale (ginger) are effective against T. castaneum in terms of adult mortality and controlling weight losses. However, A. indica (neem) proved to be more effective against the beetles when used in flour form of resources. Data on the number of larvae, pupae and adult T. castaneum revealed that neem seeds and eucalyptus leaves were most effective against T. castaneum followed by that of tobacco. A subsequent experiment was conducted to study the dose response of neem seed powder against the beetle pests. The results of this study clearly suggest that use of botanicals in stored product pest management to supplement the success of whole system.