Insecticidal potential of Hyptis suaveolens and Tithonia diversifolia against Tribolium castaneum in stored wheat.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tribolium castaneum, commonly known as the red flour beetle, is an important pest of stored grains and agricultural commodities worldwide, causing substantial economic losses. The use of synthetic insecticides for its control poses several challenges, including environmental concerns and development of insecticidal resistance. Consequently, there is a growing need to explore natural alternatives for the effective management of pest. This study investigates the insecticidal efficacy of leaf extract of Hyptis suaveolens and Tithonia diversifolia against Tribolium castaneum. The experiment was a factorial arrangement fitted into a completely randomized design with three replications set up in the Crop Protection laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, Ilorin in 2020. The treatments were botanical pesticides formulated with Hyptis suaveolens and Tithonia diversifolia, aluminium phosphide and an untreated control. The effect of the extracts on survival of Tribolium castaneum was assessed by recording adult mortality rate, larva mortality rate, pupa mortality rate, adult emergence and wheat seed weight loss. All numerical data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means were separated by Tukey’s honest significant difference. The findings highlight the potential of H. suaveolens and T. diversifolia as a natural source of insecticide against T. castaneum. Although there were no significant differences between the wheat treated with Hyptis suaveolens and Tithonia. Diversifolia is significantly more effective than the control with respect to weight loss, reducing T. castaneum damage. Keywords: Hyptis suaveolens, Insect pest, Postharvest loss, Tithonia diversifolia, Tribolium castaneum