Behavioural responses of the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, to host (stored-grain) and non-host plant volatiles

• Published in: Pest management science 2010, Vol.66 (1), p.44-50
• Main Authors: Ukeh, Donald A, Birkett, Michael A, Bruce, Toby JA, Allan, Eunice J, Pickett, John A, Mordue ' Luntz ', A. Jennifer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aframomum melegueta; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Alligator; Animals; Appetitive Behavior - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Coleoptera; Control; Curculionidae; Female; four-armed olfactometer; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; insect behavior; Insect Repellents - analysis; Insects; Invertebrates; Male; Medically important nuisances and vectors, pests of stored products and materials: population survey and control; odors; olfactometers; Pest control; Pest Control, Biological; Pests of stored products; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Piper; Piper - chemistry; Piper guineense; Piper nigrum; Piperaceae; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; plant volatiles; Poaceae; Protozoa. Invertebrates; repellency; rhizomes; Seeds; Sitophilus zeamais; storage insects; Triticum; Triticum aestivum; volatile compounds; Volatile Organic Compounds - pharmacology; Weevils - drug effects; Wheat; Zea mays; Zingiber officinale; Zingiberaceae; Zingiberaceae - chemistry
• ISSN: 1526-498X; 1526-4998; 1526-4998
• DOI: 10.1002/ps.1828

BACKGROUND: Four-arm olfactometer bioassays were conducted to assess the behavioural responses of the adult maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), to harvested seeds of host plants, i.e. white maize, yellow maize (Zea mays L.) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (Poaceae), and non-host plant materials, i.e. alligator pepper, Aframomum melegueta (Rosk) K. Schum (Zingiberaceae), rhizomes of ginger, Zingiber officinale (Roscoe) (Zingiberaceae), and West African black pepper, Piper guineense Thonn and Schum (Piperaceae). Additional bioassays with host plant volatiles were conducted in the presence of three doses of non-host plant materials.RESULTS: Both sexes of the weevil showed strong attraction to maize and wheat seed volatiles, but were significantly repelled (P < 0.001) by odours from A. melegueta, Z. officinale and P. guineense. Furthermore, S. zeamais avoided maize and wheat seeds presented in combination with the non-host plant material at 10% (w/w) and 33% (w/w) levels.CONCLUSIONS: A. melegueta, Z. officinale and P. guineense have the potential for use in the protection of stored grains by resource-poor farmers with local access to these plants.