STORED INSECT PEST MANAGEMENT

Protecting food grains has assumed greater importance as post-harvest grain loss has reached great heights. In India, the post harvest loss of grains is estimated to be around 10%. Out of this, losses incurred during storage are estimated at 6.6%.Insects play a significant role in deterioration of food grains. They cause both qualitative and quantitative losses to grains .Usually, the existence of field infected insects in store houses is felt only when they are hovering and flying around. But, by the time, there would have been an enormous damage created.

Stored Insect Pest Management at Household Level:

Storage insect trap is a simple and safe solution to grain protection. As surplus amount of cereals and pulses are being stored by the farmer in his farm house, storage grain pest attack is ensured .It is a new method of detecting insects at early stages of infestation and trapping insects in stored grains. This trap usage is 100% safe owing to it being free of chemicals. The following basic characteristics of the stored grain insects have been exploited in the trap development:

• Best suited for small scale household grain storage(25-50kg capacity bin)
• Easy detection and mass removal of insects
• Easy to handle and maintenance free
• Environmental friendly
• No usage of insecticides

MYRADA – KVK’s Experience:  The insect trap is efficient only in the initial stages of insect development. The trap removes insects like Red flour beetle, Rice weevil and Cigarette beetle. Nearly 6-7 insects (Red flour beetle) are trapped per week in the early stages of infestation.

The trap is not suitable for removal of egg, larvae and pupae of insects as majority of them are internal feeders except the larvae of Red flour beetle and Cigarette beetle.

An 80% efficiency of the trap can be noticed if two insect probe traps (150mm) are installed to 1.0 – 1.5m diameter Bin of 25 -75 kg capacity. If the grains are stored in a gunny bag, a 300mm insect probe trap along with two 150 mm insect probe traps should be installed to manage the insects. The insect probe trap with 2mm perforations can be used in flour as well to remove larva and adult of Tribolium sp. (Red flour beetle).

The trap is not suitable for removal of insects in heavily infested grains .

Stored Insect Pest management at Community Godowns:

60-70% of the grain produced in the country is retained by the farmers for consumption. Preventing loss of foodgrains in storage is as important as the various methods to increase production. The foodgrains are stored by the farmers and considerable losses in quantity and quality take place due to insect, rodents, moisture, microorganisms and birds.

Storage godowns have been constructed by MYRADA and the Government along with community contribution for the benefit of farmers residing in Germalam, Arepalayam and Kadambur hilly areas. Maize is the product mainly stored by the farmers of this region. The product is being stored and sold when there is hike in market price. During storage, the farmers have experienced heavy damage and losses due to the biotic ( Insects, rats and fungi) and abiotic stresses. They are unaware of the management strategies.In order to manage insects pests,ultra violet light trap(4 w) have been installed and the study is in progress

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT IN COTTON

Cotton is one of the major cash crops in India. It is known as ‘White Gold’. India is the largest cotton growing country in the world and is branded as higher user of pesticides in many areas. Tamilnadu, Andhrapradesh and Punjab have become classical example of highest chemical insecticide users in the country. Since the crop harbours a large number of insect-pests, insecticides are dumped into the field in order to control them. The indiscriminate use of insecticides has led to resistance behaviour in Bollworm (Helicoverpa sp.), soil and environmental pollution, hazard to natural enemies. In order to prevent these issues and enhance cotton production and reduce use of insecticides and production cost significantly, Integrated Pest Management was taken up.

IPM is an integration of all control methods with an ecofriendly approach. IPM is the most appropriate approach to obtain sustainable yieldwith least damage to the environment. The project on IPM will let the farmers to know about the technical know how of the management practices (IPM) of the insect-pests especially Boll worms which is considered a serious pest of cotton .

Objectives of the IPM Project:

• To Popularize location specific IPM module
• To control pest problems through IPM and enhance cotton production in low productivity areas or problematic areas
• To create awareness among farmers on environmentally safe approach to combat pest problems.

         COTTON PEST PREVALENT IN ERODE AND IPM PRACTICES FOLLOWED

LOW COST IPM TECHNOLOGIES

Yellow sticky trap:

Any unused material with large surface area painted with “highways yellow” and smeared with oil or grease serves as yellow sticky trap. The behaviour of the insect is being exploited by this trap. This will trap whiteflies, aphids and thrips (to a certain extent).

Sex pheromone trap

These are small devices made of plastic which are found promising for management of insect pests. The male insect population is being attracted by the pheromone released from the synthetic lure. The lure is made up of  pheromones released by the female insect synthetically.

Fermented castor solution:

Fermented castor solution trap is an insect attractant which is used to manage white grubs by attracting the adult beetles towards their sources.

Trap crop:

Trap crops are the crops sown around the main field crop along the bunds. The purpose of these trap crops are to attract the main field pests to lay eggs on them. The eggs on the trap crop when hatched and grows to larvae should be removed manually by plucking the leaves or spayed with insecticides.

Eg: Castor and marigold in cotton, Castor – traps Spodoptera litura, Marigold – traps Helicoverpa armigera

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