The Effect Fogging of Corn Kernels to Maize Weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Population

Abstract

Maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a common pest of warehouses in Indonesia not only of corn kernels. The fog or smoke is used for many purposes especially for food, but as naturally pesticides that are rarely used in agriculture. The population of S. zeamais needs to be controlled to avoid huge damage of corn, including weight and texture loss. The common naturally method is fogging on kernel before and during storage. The purpose of this study was to assess the biological performance of S. zeamais including a number of individual and the amount of frasses in each treatment with different fogging duration. The research was conducted using a completely randomized design method with four levels of fogging duration of 0, 15, 30, 45 minutes under three replications for each treatment. The results showed that the duration of fogging had a significant effect on S. zeamais population. In contrast, the amount of frass was not significantly different between treatment. The 45 minutes was indicated as the most effective time controlling S. zeamais population. Fogging is an eco-friendly and cheapest method controlling pest rather than chemical treatments. The fogged kernels indicated the significant effect to control infestation of S. zeamais in corn kernels. This current research also revealed diverse utilize of smoke, either as natural smoke or liquid for pesticide.