Efficacy of different botanicals in the management of Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius) in stored sorghum

Effectiveness of botanical grain protectants viz., red chilli Capsicum annuum L. fruit powder, black pepper Piper nigram L. seed powder, neem Azadirachta indica, neem leaf powder, turmeric Curcuma longa L. rhizome powder and tulsi Oscimum basilicum L. leaf powder in the management of Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius), a serious insect pest of sorghum under storage, studied under controlled laboratory conditions, revealed that black pepper seed powder (0.5%) exhibited maximum adult mortality of 65 and 29.75 per cent at 4 and 60 DAT, respectively. The next effective treatments were red chilli fruit and neem seed Kernal powder (5.0%). The germination of sorghum grains was found above 80 per cent with neem leaf, tulsi leaf and turmeric rhizome powder treatments while neem seed kernel, red chilli fruit and black pepper seed powder showed somewhat detrimental effect.