Evaluation of some botanicals against Sitophilus oryzae (L.) on stored wheat

Amongst the various botanicals tested, against Sitophilus oryzae (L.) the higher mean corrected adult mortality of S. oryzae was observed with vekhand (30.7%), eucalyptus (29.2%), neem (27.7%) and pongam (27.5%) leaf powders. The mean mortality followed a trend of effectiveness as vekhnad powder> eucalyptus leaf powder> neem leaf powder> pongam leaf powder>tulsi leaf powder>turmeric rhizome powder>garlic clove powder. After 6 months of storage, the highest germination was recorded in eucalyptus leaf powder (69.6%) followed by pongam leaf powder (68.1%). The germination recorded before treatment ranged from 70.8% to 77.5% and the differences were non-significant among different treatments. The loss in germination was highest (20.5%) in treatment of garlic clove powder and lowest in treatment of pongam leaf powder (9.9%).