Efficacy of Indigenous Plant Materials and Modified Storage Structures to Insect Pests of Maize Seed During On-Farm Storage

Abstract

Four different modified storage structures such as bamboo mat with mud plastering, jute bag with inner plastic lining, metal bins and kuniyu (control treatment) were evaluated for their suitability for maize seed storage for eleventh months in 2001 at Rising Patan (450 m asl) and Budhakot (911 m asl) of western Nepal. Forty adults maize weevils (Sitophilus zeamays Mostachusky) per storage structures were inoculated before treating them with individual plant materials and chemical pesticides. Plant materials and safe chemical pesticides such as timur (Xanthophylum sp.) 25 g/kg, bojho (Acorus calamusI L.) 50 g/kg, common salt 50 g/ kg, acetallic super 1 mg/kg and aluminum phosphide 0.5 tab/10 kg (chemical check) were applied in the individual treatments. The experiments were evaluated into factorial design. Quality assessment and insect pests infestation of maize seeds in storage structures have revealed, metal bin and jute bag with inner plastic lining were the best storage structures. Metal bin was found superior in terms of its ability to give 91% germination within six months of storage followed by jute bag (88 %) and bamboo mat (73.50%). Similarly, bojho has given very effective control to maize weevil, where the infestation was only 2.25% during the period of nine months of storage. In this regard, bojho can be recommended as effective plant material to control weevils at par with acetallic super, whereas, the common salt did not work at all. Key words: Bojho, germination, maize seed storage, maize weevil, storage structures J. Inst. Agric. Anim. Sci. 27:69-76 (2006)