Effect of smoke on insect mortality and quality parameters of stored wheat at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand

Abstract

A novel study was made on the effect of cow dung and neem leaves derived smoke on mortality of adults of Sitophilus oryzae, Rhyzopertha. dominica, Tribolium castaneum, 3rd and 5th instar larvae and adult moths of Corcyra. cephalonica and on quality parameters of stored wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under laboratory conditions in the Department of Entomology, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand during 2016. The results showed that more than 50 per cent insect mortality was observed after 72h of exposure to neem leaves smoke and after 96 h of exposure to cow dung smoke. On the other hand, smoke generated by cow dung and neem leaves had no adverse effect on germination of seeds after different exposure time periods. Therefore, the present study clearly revealed that cow dung and neem leave smoke was lethal to storage insect pests but has stimulatory effect on germination and post germination response of seeds.