Developmental Biology, Feeding Preference, and Botanical Managementof the Lesser Grain Borer (Rhyzopertha dominica) in Millets

Abstract

 During storage, either at household, rural, or trader level, commodities are attacked by several species of insect pests, including Rhyzopertha dominica, Sitophilus oryzae, Tribolium castaneum, and Sitotroga cerealella, resulting in losses in both quantity and quality. Major losses of food grains during storage are mainly due to insect pests, among which internal feeders such as the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica, are considered to be of prime importance. Rhyzopertha dominica is a major pest of rice, wheat, and millets such as sorghum, pearl millet, and proso millet. Research on stored millets has mainly focused on the susceptibility of different cultivars to insect pest damage, physico–chemical changes in the produce due to infestation, and the germinability of infested grains. However, studies on developmental biology and feeding preference in millets, particularly on Rhyzopertha dominica, are rather limited. Moreover, with the growing demand for pesticide free commodities, botanical management has become an inevitable practice. In wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, and other millets, the effects of infestation by Rhyzopertha dominica at different growth stages on nutritional properties, dough rheological properties, food processing properties, and other relevant quality indices were evaluated. Infestation was carried out at the egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages under optimal growth conditions of temperature (32 ± 1)◦C and relative humidity of 75 ± 1%.