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Article
Periodic Physical Disturbance: An Alternative Method for Controlling Sitophilus zeamais (Maize Weevil) Infestation
Insects
  • Rashid A. Suleiman, Iowa State University
  • Kurt A. Rosentrater, Iowa State University
  • Bernard Chove, Sokoine University of Agriculture
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
9-29-2016
DOI
10.3390/insects7040051
Abstract

Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky is the most important insect pest of stored maize in tropical regions. The objective of this study was to determine the practicality of periodic physical disturbance on S. zeamaismortality and its adoption by smallholder farmers in developing countries. In this experiment, treatments and control were arranged in a randomized block design with three replications and three storage times in three regions of Tanzania. Region was used as the blocking variable. A total of 108 clean 20-L plastic containers were each loaded with 10 kg of fresh white dent corn and 0.50 kg of maize infested with S. zeamais. For the treatment, containers were disturbed twice a day, whereas for the controls the containers were not disturbed until the end of storage. The overall mortality rate (%) after 30, 60, and 90 days of storage were 88%, 96%, and 98%, respectively. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed for the number of live S. zeamais between the control and experimental treatments. Additionally, the number of live S. zeamais in the treatment significantly decreased as storage time increased. This study shows the potential of a feasible, simple, affordable, and effective method of protecting maize grain for small-holder farmers in developing countries without using chemicals.

Comments

This article is from Insects 2016, 7(4), 51; doi:10.3390/insects7040051. Posted with permission.

Access
Open
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Copyright Owner
The authors
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Rashid A. Suleiman, Kurt A. Rosentrater and Bernard Chove. "Periodic Physical Disturbance: An Alternative Method for Controlling Sitophilus zeamais (Maize Weevil) Infestation" Insects Vol. 7 Iss. 4 (2016) p. 51
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kurt_rosentrater/279/