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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Post-harvest losses due to stored product insects have been estimated to be up to 9 per cent in developed countries to 20 per cent or more in developing countries (Phillips and Thorne, 2010). Beside the quantitative loss, the insect infestation in wheat grains reduce germination and produce unpleasant odour, dirty appearance and abhorrent taste due to contamination with insect fragments and excrement. The post- harvest losses of food grains in India were 7-10 per cent of the total production from farm to market level and 4-5 per cent at market and distribution levels. The khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium Everts (Coleoptera: Dermestidae), is a serious pest of stored wheat in the southern part of Haryana (adjoining Rajasthan) where the environment is relatively hot and dry favouring rapid breeding of this pest. As a rule the larvae attack the germ portion but in case of heavy infestation other parts of the grain may also be damaged. Although some information on the combined damage caused by different stored grain pests in the stored wheat is available in the literature, yet little specific data are available with respect to the damage caused by T. granarium, a predominant species of the area, in rural storage conditions during different months.