Vol. 10, Special Issue 6 (2021)

Author(s):
B Sundar, Vishwakarma Rashmi, P Durai Murugan and AK Bhowmick

Abstract:
The present investigation is aimed to assess the efficacy of different botanicals for the management of red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum in sesame. The study lasted for six months and comprised of ten treatments, namely Sweet flag rhizome powder, Nirgundi leaf powder, Datura leaf powder, Lantana leaf powder, Turmeric leaf powder, Castor leaf powder, Eucalyptus leaf powder, Neem leaf powder, Neem seed kernel extract and Untreated control. Data was recorded three times with 60 days interval between data recordings to assess the parameters viz., per cent seed damage, per cent weight loss, No. of adults emerged and germination percentage. The storage studies revealed that the treatment sweet flag rhizome powder @ 10 g/kg seed recorded the lowest number of adult emerging (2.31adults), the lowest percentage of seed damage (11.71%), percentage of seed weight loss (2.97%) and the highest percentage germination (74.73%) after six months of storage. Furthermore, none of the botanicals had any effect on sesame seed germination.