A Decade of Insect Pest Interceptions in Imported Seed Germplasm

Quarantine examination of 8,14,056 exotic seed samples of various crops during 2001–10 revealed infestation of insect pests in 8,659 samples including 1,138 with hidden infestation. Several exotic pests not known to occur in India were intercepted during visual examination that included storage beetles and weevils viz., Blapstinus histrichus in Carthamus tinctorius from USA, Sitophilus granarius in Triticum aestivum from USA, Trogoderma variabile in T. aestivum from Australia and Typhaea stercorea in mango stones from Israel. Exotic pests detected through X-ray radiography included Acanthoscelides obtectus in Phaseolus vulgaris from Colombia, Mexico, Peru and USA; Bruchidius atrolineatus in Vigna unguiculata from Nigeria; Bruchidius trifoli in Trifolium alexandrium from Egypt and in Trifolium spp. from Egypt, Ethiopia, UK; Bruchus dentipes in Vicia faba from ICARDA (Syria) and Spain, and in V. narbonensis from Afghanistan; Bruchus ervi in Lens spp. from ICARDA (Syria); Lens culinaris from Chile, Greece, Iran, ICARDA (Syria), Lebanon, Italy, Germany, Morocco, Turkey and Russian Federation, and V. faba from Afghanistan, Canada, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Ukraine, Yemen; Bruchus nubilis in V. faba from Ukraine; Bruchus rufimanus in V. faba from Afghanistan; Bruchus tristis in Lathyrus sativus from ICARDA (Syria); C. rhodesianus in V. unguiculata from Nigeria and C. subinnotatus in Vigna subterranea from Ghana. Exotic seed chalcids intercepted during transparency testing were-Bootanomyia sp. and Quadrastichodella eucalyptii in Eucalyptus sp. from Australia; Bruchophagus roddi and B. gibbus in Medicago sativa and Trifolium pratense from USA. The risk posed by these interceptions including average per cent infestation and pertinent literature on their host range, geographic distribution, losses caused, etc. is discussed. The percentage infestation and frequency of interception of these pests is also discussed. The infested samples were salvaged using suitable treatments/techniques.