Assessment of grain damage and weight loss caused by Sitophilus oryzae (L.) feeding on split pulses

Agric. Sci. Digest., 35 (2) 2015: 111-115 Print ISSN:0253-150X / Online ISSN:0976-0547 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE www.arccjournals.com Assessment of grain damage and weight loss caused by Sitophilus oryzae (L.) feeding on split pulses S. Vijay*, K. Bhuvaneswari and G. Gajendran 1 Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu-641 003, India. Received: 11-11-2014 Accepted: 30-05-2015 DOI: 10.5958/0976-0547.2015.00019.1 ABSTRACT An experiment was carried out at the Entomology Laboratory, Horticultural College and Research Institute for Women, TNAU, Trichy in November-December 2013 to estimate the comparative storage losses in split pulses caused by Sitophilus oryzae L. under room and controlled conditions. A completely randomized design (CRD) was used with seven treatments (T1= sorghum, T2 = red gram, T3= chick pea, T4 = black gram, T5 = green gram, T6= fried gram and T7= lentil) each replicated four times. The assessed parameters were per cent weight loss, number of F 1 progeny and per cent grain damage. Among the split pulses red gram dhal was found to be the most suitable host of pulse feeding population with 58.25 and 43.00 F 1 progeny production, 93.50 and 91.25 per cent grain damage and 28.14 and 37.15 per cent weight loss under room and controlled condition followed by green gram, chick pea, black gram, fried gram and lentil. The assessed parameters were higher in sorghum feeding population on sorghum grains than at pulse feeding population on pulse grains. Key words: F 1 progeny, Per cent grain damage, Per cent weight loss, Sitophilus oryzae L, Split pulses. INTRODUCTION The rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is one of the most destructive pest of stored cereals worldwide. It is classed as a primary pest, cosmopolitan in nature and is known to infest sound cereal seeds (Hill, 1990) and causes severe loss in rice, maize, barley and wheat (Bhatia et al., 1975; Singh et al, 1980; Neupane, 1995). Though the storage grain loss is caused by insect pests, pathogens and rodents it is generally believed that half of the storage loss is usually caused by insects (FAO, 1968). Considering the loss caused by storage insect pests, effective methods of control are of paramount importance. Control often depends on a sound knowledge of the ecology and on the effects of a multitude of environmental factors on the life history of a pest. Reports about its occurrence on legumes are scanty. Pemberton et al (1981) studied its breeding behaviour on carob, Ceratonia siliqua (L.), a tree legume native to the Mediterranean region. Coombs et al. (1977) reported the successful development by Trinidad strain of S.oryzae on yellow split pea. In India, the pest was recorded for the first time to feed on red gram at Coimbatore. We collected a population of rice weevil feeding on split red gram dhal was sent to IARI, identified as Sitophilus oryzae by Dr. V.V. Ramamoorthy, Principal Scientist, Entomology Division (Personal communication, 2011). In the present investigation, the suitability of other split pulses was studied for its development in comparison to the population that occurs on sorghum in terms of F1 progeny, per cent weight loss and per cent grain damage. MATERIALS AND METHODS The two population of rice weevil, S. oryzae, was mass cultured on their respective hosts namely sorghum and red gram dhal under laboratory. The development of population reared on split pulses was studied in comparison to that of sorghum. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with seven treatments viz., T1 = sorghum, T2 = split red gram dhal, T3 = split chick pea dhal, T4 = split black gram dhal, T5= split green gram dhal, T6= split fried gram dhal and T7= split lentil dhal and each replicated four times. The experiment was conducted under room (temperature 26.5-30.35ºC, RH 65-73%) and controlled conditions (30ºC, 70% RH). In a small plastic container with punctured lid, 100 grains from each material sample were placed. Each container was infested with 10 pairs of one week old adult rice weevils. *Corresponding author s e-mail: entovijay@gmail.com. 1 Agricultural College and Research Institute, Kudumiyanmalai, Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu-641 003, India.

112 AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE DIGEST Weevil sex was determined by rostra length and rostra pit discrimination (Reddy, 1951) and by abdominal tip shape (Qureshi, 1963). Separate set of containers each with 100 grains and 10 pairs of adult were maintained for observations on per cent grain damage, per cent weight loss and number of F1 progeny produced. For F 1 progeny study, released adults were separated from test materials via a #10 sieve and discarded after a week period and then the samples were replaced in their respective containers. Each container was carefully observed on daily basis, beginning on the 30 th day of removal. Emerging progenies in each container were separated from the sample grain daily via #10 sieve, counted and then discarded. This process continued until there was no progeny emergence in all containers. For both per cent weight loss and grain damage assessment the containers were maintained 60 days. Damaged and undamaged grains from the 100 grain samples in each container were separated manually using a magnifying glass at 15, 30, 45, and 60 days after release for both room and controlled conditions. Per cent grain damage was computed using the formula: Grain damage (%) = (number of damaged grains / total number of grains) 100. The per cent weight loss was calculated using initial and final grain weight measurements (60 day period). Weight Loss was worked out by using the formula (Adams and Schulton, 1978) (UND) - (DNU) Per cent Weight Loss =--------------------------X 100 U (ND+NU) Where, U- Weight of uninfested grains (g) NU- Number of uninfested grains (g) D- Weight of infested grains (g) ND- Number of infested grains (g) Percentage data were processed by arcsine and square root transformation wherever required. These processed values were subjected to an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test at 1% and 5% significance levels. The mean separation for treatments was done using Duncan s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The data obtained on F 1 progeny, per cent grain damage and per cent weight loss were analysed and used as parameters to determine the suitability of various split pulses for the S.oryzae population collected from red gram dhal. Similar observations were also made on the population of S.oryzae developing on sorghum. The population of S. oryzae collected from red gram was found to develop on other split pulses namely green gram, chick pea, black gram, lentil and fried gram. However among the spilt pulses the number of F 1 progeny emergence was significantly higher in red gram at both room and controlled conditions. The number of progenies emerged was 58.25 in red gram followed by green gram (52.75), chick pea (41.75), black gram (32.25), lentil (30.25) and fried gram (23.50) under room temperature. Similarly under controlled condition also the progeny emergence was significantly higher in red gram (43.00) and was on par with green gram (42.75) followed by chick pea (32.75), black gram (23.50), fried gram (22) and lentil (16.75) (Table 1). In case of sorghum, the number of F1 progeny produced was 72.75 and 57.5 at room and controlled temperature condition and it was significantly superior to all the treatments. After 60 days of release, the per cent weight loss caused by S.oryzae under room temperature was 28.14 in red gram, 24.71 in green gram, 11.22 in chick pea, 11.12 in lentil and 7.94 in black gram. The lowest per cent weight loss (4.70) was recorded in fried gram (Table 1). Under controlled condition feeding by S.oryzae resulted in 37.15, 27.52, 14.49, 14.35, 11.76, 8.61 per cent weight loss in red gram, green gram, lentil, chick pea, black gram and fried gram respectively (Table 1). Among the spilt pulses the per cent weight loss was significantly higher in red gram at both room and controlled conditions. The corresponding weight loss in sorghum was 32.94 and 34.76 per cent weight loss under room and controlled condition, respectively (Fig. 1). The per cent grain damage under room temperature condition was significantly higher in red gram (36.25) followed by 36.00 in green gram, 34.00 in chick pea, 27.00 in black gram, 24.25 in lentil and 20.00 in fried gram on 15 days after release. However under controlled conditions, the percent grain damage observed 15 days after release was 35.00 in red gram, 34.25 in green gram, 27.00 in chick pea, 21.25 in black gram, 17.00 in fried gram and 12. 00 in lentil respectively. The per cent grain damage under room temperature condition was 64.25 in red gram, 55.75 in green gram, 40.75 in chick pea, 27.75 in lentil and 19.75 in fried gram on 30 days after release. Under controlled condition, the per cent grain damage at 30 days after release was significantly higher in red gram (59.25) followed by green gram (51.50), chick pea (36.00), black gram (29.25), fried gram (19.75) and lentil (14.75). At 45 days after release per cent grain damage was 84.25 and 73.0 in red gram and 76.25 and 69.0 in green gram under room and controlled condition. The per cent grain damage at 60 days after release was 93.50 and 92.75 at room temperature and 91.25 and 89.50 at controlled temperature in red gram and green gram and these

Treatments Room Temperature Volume 35 Issue 2 (2015) 113 TABLE 1: The F 1 progeny and weight loss in sorghum and split pulses due to Sitophilus oryzae L. infestation under room and controlled temperature (November- December 2013). F1 Progeny (Mean)* Controlled Temperature Per cent Weight Loss** 60 Days After Release Room Temperature Controlled Temperature 57.50 32.94 34.76 43.00 28.14 37.15 32.75 11.22 14.35 23.50 7.94 11.76 42.75 24.71 27.52 22.00 4.70 8.61 16.75 11.12 14.49 Sorghum 72.75 (8.53) a (6.56) a (35.02) a (36.12) b Red gram 58.25 (7.63) b (7.58) b (32.04) b (37.55) a Chick pea 41.75 (6.46) d (5.72) c (19.56) d (22.26) d Black gram 32.25 (5.68) e (4.84) d (16.35) e (20.05) e Green gram 52.75 (7.26) c (6.56) b (29.81) c (31.63) c Fried gram 23.50 (4.85) g (4.69) d (12.45) f (17.02) f Lentil 30.25 (5.50) f (4.09) e (19.47) d (22.35) d SEd 0.0784 0.1307 0.6286 0.7538 CD Value (0.05) 0.1630 0.2718 1.3072 1.5677 * Mean of four replications. Figures in parantheses are square root transformed values. Means followed by same letter (s) in a column are not significantly different by DMRT (P=0.05) ** Figures in parantheses are arc sin transformed values. Means followed by same letter (s) in a column are not significantly different by DMRT (P=0.05) Room Temperature ranges from 26.5 to 30.35ºC, RH ranges from 65 to 73% Controlled Temperature ranges from 30ºC, 70% RH TABLE 2: The grain damage of sorghum and split pulses due to Sitophilus oryzae infestation under room and controlled temperature (November- December 2013). Per cent Grain Damage Per cent Grain Damage Treatments Room Temperature Controlled Temperature 15 th day 30 th day 45 th day 60 th day 15 th day 30 th day 45 th day 60 th day 81.00 94.25 94.75 41.00 71.50 80.75 92.00 64.25 84.25 93.50 35.00 59.25 73.00 91.25 40.75 64.75 83.25 27.00 36.00 63.00 81.75 32.50 38.25 48.00 21.25 29.25 36.00 41.00 55.75 76.25 92.75 34.25 51.50 69.00 89.50 19.75 33.25 45.25 17.00 19.75 31.50 37.50 27.75 38.75 53.25 12.00 14.75 16.00 31.00 Sorghum 45.00 (42.13) a (64.20) a (76.19) a (76.80) a (39.82) a (57.74) a (63.99) a (73.63) a Red gram 36.25 (37.02) b (53.28) b (66.70) b (75.28) ab (36.26) b (50.33) b (58.70) b (72.81) ab Chick pea 34.00 (35.06) d (39.67) d (53.59) d (65.85) c (31.30) c (36.86) d (52.54) d (64.72) c Black gram 27.00 (30.65) e (34.75) e (38.20) e (42.27) e (27.45) d (32.74) e (36.86) e (39.82) d Green gram 36.00 (36.86) bc (48.31) c (60.85) c (74.42) b (35.82) b (45.86) c (56.17) c (71.17) ab Fried gram 20.00 (26.55) f (26.37) g (35.21) f (42.27) e (24.34) e (26.37) f (34.14) f (37.76) e Lentil 24.25 (29.50) e (31.78) f (38.50) e (46.87) d (20.35) f (22.58) g (23.57) g (33.83) f Sed 0.6213 0.9182 1.0082 0.8835 0.7782 0.6926 0.7036 0.9220 CD Value (0.05) 1.2920 1.9096 2.0096 1.8374 1.6183 1.4404 1.4632 1.9175 * Mean of four replications * Figures in parantheses are arc sin transformed values. Mean followed by same letter (s) in a column are not significantly different by DMRT (P=0.05) Room Temperature ranges from 26.5 to 30.35ºC, RH ranges from 65 to 73% Controlled Temperature ranges from 30ºC, 70% RH

114 AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE DIGEST FIG 1: Grain damage due to Sitophilus oryzae in sorghum and split pulses at 60 days after release two grains were on par with each other (Fig. 2). However, they significantly differed from other treatments during the entire study period. Per cent grain damage recorded in sorghum by the respective population during the period of study was significantly higher than that of pulses, ranging from 45.00 to 94.75 and 41 to 92.0 under room and controlled condition respectively (Table 2). The results showed that number of F 1 progeny and per cent grain damage were higher in red gram and green gram under room condition (26.5-30.35ºC, 65-73% RH) compared to controlled condition. However the per cent weight loss was higher in red gram and green gram under controlled condition (30ºC- 70% RH) compared to room temperature. Subedi et al. (2009) reported similar findings that the F1 progeny (138.8 adults) and per cent grain damage (18.75) were higher under room temperature (25 ± 3ºC) in case of polished rice compared to controlled condition. However under controlled condition (30ºC, 70% RH) the per cent weight loss (14.11) was higher in polished rice compared to room temperature. The present findings indicated that there was a highly significant positive correlation between F1 progeny, per cent weight loss and per cent grain damage in both room and controlled temperature. Similar findings were reported in few earlier works like S.oryzae damage in maize (Ahmad et al., 1986 and Navarro et al., 1978), Trogoderma granarium in wheat (Khattak et al., 2000), Tribolium castaneum, T. granarium and Rhizopertha dominica in wheat (Khan and Kulachi, 2002). During the experiment, S. oryzae population obtained from split red gram pulses completed their development on all the split pulses tested namely red gram, green gram, chick pea, green gram, black gram, fried gram FIG 2: Grain weight loss due to Sitophilus oryzae in sorghum and split pulses at 60 days after release and lentil. However, red gram and green gram were found to be the most preferred host on the basis of progeny production, percent grain damage and weight loss. Coombs et al (1977) also reported the development of S. oryzae on grain legumes peas, lentils, green and black gram. However, progeny production, percent grain damage and weight loss by this population on split pulses was significantly lower than that of sorghum feeding population on sorghum. Compton et al (1998) reported that S. zeamais caused maximum per cent grain damage (85-93%) at 60 days after release in case of maize under room temperature condition. This was attributed to the susceptibility of the hosts and conducive climatic conditions (28 C and 65% RH). The weight loss caused by storage insects depends on many factors such as insect species, environmental conditions, period of storage and the product itself (Howe, 1965). In the present study, the weight loss caused by S. oryzae feeding on pulses ranged between 4.10-28.14 % under room temperature and 8.61-37.15% under controlled condition, as compared to 32.94 and 34.76 % in sorghum. Koura and El-Halfawy (1972) reported about 79-81% weight loss in barley, 56-74% weight loss in rice and 36-40% weight loss in wheat due to S. oryzae and S. granarius infestation under natural conditions at 25 C and 70% RH. The loss recorded in grain sample weight due to the feeding of S. oryzae varied from 4 to 52% in different sorghum varieties during storage up to 9 weeks at 30 C and 72% RH (McMillian et al., 1981). The variation in host preference is caused by physical characteristics as well as nutritional components and can be attributed as one reason for differential preference. Split pulses have a high nutritional value and rich in proteins viz., red gram (44%), green gram (48%), chick pea (38%), black gram (50%), lentil (52%) and fried gram (30%). Apart from protein the amino acid content and composition also can influence the development of S.oryzae (Baker, 1976).

Volume 35 Issue 2 (2015) 115 CONCLUSION Based on the results observed on F 1 progeny, per cent weight loss and per cent grain damage it is concluded the red gram and green gram dhal were the most preferred among the six split pulses tested against S. oryzae strain population collected from red gram dhal. REFERENCES Adams, J.M. and Schulton G, M. (1978). In Post Harvest Grain Loss Assessment Methods, American Association of Cereal Chemistry USA, p. 193. Baker, J.E.(1976). Total dietary amino acid and lysine requirements of larva of Sitophilus oryzae (L.). Journal of Georgia Entomological Society 11: 176-181. Ahmad, M., Khan, M. R., Iqbal, A. and Hassan, M. (1986). Farm level storage loss of wheat by insect pests in Samundri Tehsil, Pakistan Entomology 8: 41-44. Bhatia, S. K., Singh, V. S. and Bansal, M. G. (1975). Varietal resistance in barley grain to laboratory infestation of rice weevil and lesser grain borer. Bulletin of Grain Technology 13 (2): 69-72. Compton, J. A. F., Floyd, S., Ofosu, A. and Agbo, B. (1998). The modified count and weight method: an improve procedure for assessing weight loss in stored maize cobs. J Stored Prod Res 34 (4):277-285. Coombs, C. W., Billings, C. J. and Porter, J. E. (1977). The effect of yellow split-peas (Pisum sativum L.) and other pulses on the productivity of certain strains of Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the ability of other strains to breed thereon. J Stored Prod Res 13: 53 58. FAO, (1968). Rice grain of life. International Rice Year 1966: Freedom from hunger. World Food Problems No. 6. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy 65p. Gahukar, R. T. (1994). Storage of food grains and insect control in developing countries. Insect Science and its Application 15. 383-400. Hill, D. S. (1990). Pests of Stored Products and Their Control, Belhaven press, London Howe, R. (1962). The effects of temperature and humidity on the oviposition rate of Tribolium castaneum (Hbst.) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 53: 301-310. Khan, S. M. and Kulachi, I. R. (2002). Assessment of post harvest losses in wheat. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences 1: 103-106. Khattak, S. U., Kamal, S., Ullah, K., Ahmad, S., Khan, A. U. and Jabbar, A. (2000). Appraisal of rainfed wheat lines against Khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium Everts. Pakistan Journal of Zoology 32: 131-134. Koura, A. and El-Halfawy, M. A. (1972). Weight loss in stored grains caused by insect infestation in Egypt. Journal of Egypt Entomological Society 56:413-417. McMillian, W.W., Wiseman, B.R., Widstrom, N.W. (1981). An evaluation of selected sorghums for multiple pest resistance. Florida Entomologist 64(1):198-199 Navarro, S., Kashanchi, Y., Green, M. and Frandji, H.(1978). Causes of Loss in stored grain in Israel. Special Publication Ministry of Agriculture Israel No. 105 XI. 11, 95-112 (Review of Applied Entomology (A) 67: 1979. Neupane, F. P. (1995). Agricultural Entomology in Nepal. Review of Agricultural Entomology 83 (12): 1291-1304. Pemberton, G. W. and Rodriguez, A. D. (1981). The occurrence of a rice strain of S.oryzae (L.) (Col. Curculionidae) breeding in Portugese kibbled carobs. J Stored Prod Res 17:37-38 Qureshi, A. H. (1963). Some sex differences in the granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius (L.). The Canadian Entomology 27: 13-16. Reddy, D. B. (1951). Determination of sex in adult rice and granary weevils. Pan Pacific Entomology 27: 13-16. Singh, V. S., Bhatia, S. K. and Murthy, B. N. (1980). Effect of hull on the resistance of barley varieties to the rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae L. infestation. Indian Journal of Entomology 42 (4): 576-581. Subedi, S., Thapa, R. B. and Rijal, J. P. (2009). Rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L.) Host preference of selected stored grains in Chitwan, Nepal. Journal of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science 30:151-158.