Evaluation of some seed protectants against pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) in stored chickpea seeds under laboratory conditions

To determine the bioefficacy of commercial formulations of neem oil, deltamethrin, diflubenzuron and U.V. radiation as a preventive measure against pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) on fresh chickpea seeds under laboratory conditions in the Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, where constant doses of all seed protectants along with control in three replications per 25 g of fresh chickpea seeds was set and three pairs of C. chinensis were inoculated in each jar and kept at room temperature. The lowest mean seed damage was observed with the seeds treated with deltamethrin followed by diflubenzuron and neem oil whereas maximum seed damage was recorded on U.V. irradiated seeds when samples were drawn at various intervals of 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 96 h and 120 hours after 30 days of storage. A similar trend was found even after 60 days, 90 days and 120 days of storage. All the treatments differed significantly among themselves and also differed significantly with control treatment. The losses were increased with increase in storage period.