|
Sci Tech
Managing bruchids in stored groundnut
Groundnut is an important oil seed crop and is grown commercially in many parts of the country. Among the insect pests attacking groundnut especially during storage, is the groundnut bruchid, Caryedon serratus Olivier which is potentially the most important one as it is the only insect species known to infest both kernels and
intact pods.
Pest biology
The adult is a reddish brown beetle. Female beetle attaches its eggs to the pod wall.
The eggs are small and milky-white in colour and hatch in about 8 days.
Grubs are stout and fleshy and they complete four instars in about 23 days.
Full grown grub makes a round hole on the pod wall through which it leaves the pod and pupate at the bottom. Pupal period ranges between 14 and 16 days.
Grubs bore through the pod wall, feed on the internal contents of the seed and make them hollow.
Preventive measures
— Drying the pods to less than 8 per cent moisture before storing.
— Separation of damaged seeds before storage in the godowns.
— Maintenance of hygiene in the godowns.
— Care should be taken that no live insect pests are present in the produce or in the storage areas.
Monitoring of the insect presence is the basic and preliminary step in the successful management of the beetle.
Installation of two-in-one model trap developed by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) is very much helpful in this regard.
Quite useful
TNAU automatic insect removal seed bin (of 100-200 kg capacity) is helpful in removing the beetles from infested pods.
This seed bin will be very useful for farmers to store their groundnut pods (seeds), as this bin removes grubs in large numbers besides adults from the infested pods.
Zadda Kavitharaghavan & S. Mohan
Department of Agricultural EntomologyTamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore Tamil Nadu
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Sci Tech
|
