Abstract
This set out to determine the effectiveness of some extracts (neem and garlic extracts) in the control of storage of grains.
The research also studied the effect of the extracts on duration for progeny emergence in terms of numbers of progeny emergence after six weeks.
An experimental research design was employed for the study. Four research were developed and answered based on the purpose of the study.
Also, six null hypotheses were formulated and tested at the probability of 0.05 level of . Ten pairs of adult insect pests of each grain (maize, rice and beans) were used.
Nine treatments, twenty-seven replicates and nine controls were set up using neem, garlic and the mixture of neem and garlic respectively.
A daily observational checklist was developed and used for the collection of data through direct observation. The research questions were answered using mean and percentages, while ANOVA was used to test the hypotheses.
The findings of the study revealed that the various extracts neem, garlic and neem &garlic mixtures used are effective against the stored grains pests.
The result of the hypotheses tested showed that a significant difference existed in the mean and percentage mortality rates of insects in the treatment compared with the control groups.
It is therefore, recommended that the general farming society be provided with these knowledge and practices of using organic extracts in the storage of grains.
Introduction
Background of Study
Preservation of reserved food grains stock is necessary to ensure a continuous supply at stable price.
Losses of stored grains occur right from insect infestation in grains storage particularly in developing countries, where poor sanitation and use of inappropriate grain storage facilities are adopted (Talukder, 2005).
Grain a member of grass and legume family (Gramineae and leguminocea) produces a dry edible one- seeded fruit “caryopsis,” commonly called a kernel, grain, or berry.
Grains according to Sinha (1995) normally include both cereal grains and oil seed crops. Cereal grains include wheat, rice corn (maize), barley, oats, rye, sorghum, and millet.
Oil seeds include canola, rapeseed, soya beans, flax, sunflowers, beans, etc. They constitute the major sources of food in the world and have to be preserved from the storage pest.
Storage pests according to Townsend (2010) are organisms, which include several beetles, moths and a mite that can infest whole grains or processed foods.
Some stored product pests feed inside whole kernels. These include the granary weevil, rice weevil and the Angoumois grain moth.
It was estimated that over 20,000 species of field and storage pests destroy approximately one-third of the world’s food production, which value annually at over
$100 US dollars among which the highest losses (43% of potential production) occur in developing Asian and African countries (Jacobson, 1982; Ahmed and Grainge, 1986).
Controls of these pests are carried out using various synthetic chemical pesticides and fumigants.
References
Abdurrahman, A., Osman.S , Salih. K & Ismet., O. (2008). Insecticidal Activity of the Essential Oils from Different Plants against Three Stored-Product Insects. J. Insect Sci., 10(21): 1- 13.
Adedire, C. O & Akinkurolero, R. O (2005) Bioactivity of Four Plant Extracts on Coelopterons Pest of Stored Cereals and Grain Legumes in Nigeria. Journal of Zoological Research 26(3): 243-245.
Ahmed, S. & Grainge, M (1986). Potential of Neem Tree (Azadirachta indica) for Pest Control and Rural Development. J. Econ. Bot. 40: 201-209.
Altaman, D. G. & Bland, J. M (1999) How to use randomize. BMJ 319: 307-4
Brattsten, L.B., C.W. Holyoke, J.R. Leeper & K.F. Affa, (1986). Insecticide Resistance:Challenge to Pest Management and Basic Research. Sci., 231: 1125-1160.Chandy, K. T (2004). Storage of Food Grains Retrieved on 3rd January 2013 from www.chandy.com
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