Management of bruchid beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in stored cowpea through plant extract and carbaryl

Cowpea bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus, is a major pest of stored cowpea in Eritrea. A comparative study was conducted on the effectiveness of plant extract and chemical as grain protectants against C. maculatus in Hamelmalo Agricultural College. Five hundred gram cowpea was treated with extract of neem leaf 5 per cent, Lantana leaf 5 per cent, wood-ash and carbaryl 2 per cent with three replicates. The plant extracts significantly reduced the population of C. maculatus at different days of intervals. At 14 DAT, the mortality by carbaryl was 8.21 per cent, while ash 7.67 per cent and control 7.34 per cent showed low mortality, respectively. The mean weight loss of control was 44.9 per cent, whereas it was low in ash (41.8%), lantana (38.4%), neem (34.2%) and carbaryl (19.5%). The treated seeds recorded higher germination percentage, while the control had the least germination percentage (40%). Among the botanical protectants neem was found to be effective against the storage pests.