Comparative Evaluation of Four Agrochemicals against Cryptolestes ferrugineus and Tribolium castaneum along with Subsequent Infection Inhibition of Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. in Stored Wheat
Comparative Evaluation of Four Agrochemicals against Cryptolestes ferrugineus and Tribolium castaneum along with Subsequent Infection Inhibition of Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. in Stored Wheat
Tiyyabah Khan1, Hafiz Azhar Ali Khan1*, Muhammad Rizwan Khan1, Muhammad Umer1, Adnan Akhter1 and Waseem Akram2
ABSTRACT
In the present study, we evaluated toxicity of selected biorational insecticides (spinosad, thiamethoxam, indoxacarb and imidacloprid) against Pakistani strains of Cryptolestes ferrugineus (rusty grain beetle) and Tribolium castaneum (red flour beetle), and tested whether insects’ mortality could control fungal contamination in stored grains or not? Bioassays were performed on wheat grains artificially infested with C. ferrugineus or T. castaneum along with spores of Aspergillus flavus or A. parasiticus. The results revealed that all the tested insecticides proved to be more toxic against C. ferrugineus as compared to T. castaneum. C. ferrugineus showed complete mortality at the highest concentrations of spinosad (1 ppm) and thiamethoxam (4 ppm), while >95% mortality was recorded at the highest concentrations of imidacloprid (4 ppm) and indoxacarb (4 ppm). In the case of T. castaneum, about 51%, 98%, 54% and 62% mortality were observed at the highest concentrations of spinosad, thiamethoxam, imidacloprid and indoxacarb, respectively. Correlation analysis revealed a highly significant and positive correlation between mortality of T. castaneum and fungal infection inhibition of both fungal species on wheat grains. Mortality of C. ferrugineus had only a highly significant and positive correlation with the infection inhibition of A. parasiticus (p<0.01). In conclusion, the tested insecticides proved effective in controlling C. ferrugineus and T. castaneum with indirect effect on fungal infection inhibition.
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