The population of red flour beetle (Tribolium casteneum) imago and crude protein of rice bran with an addition of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) flour

Abstract

Rice bran is an agricultural waste that is widely used as animal feed because it is cheap and easy to obtain. The main obstacle to using rice bran is the damage during storage, especially its protein content due to the presence and growth of insects such as the Red Flour Beetle (Tribolium castaneum). Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a plant often used as a natural insecticide. The objective of this study was to determine the ability of Lemongrass to inhibit the growth of the Red Flour Beetle and maintain protein content in rice bran during storage. This study was performed according to a completely randomized design with five treatments and four replications. Treatments consisted of P0: rice bran, P1: rice bran infected with a beetle, P2: rice bran infected with beetle + 1% lemongrass flour, P3: rice bran infected with beetle + 2% lemongrass flour, and P4: rice bran infected with beetle + 3% lemongrass flour. The results showed that the use of Lemongrass flour (Cymbopogon citratus) had a significant effect (P<0.05) on lowering the population of Tribolium casteneum imago, while crude protein content had no significant effect. From this study, it can be concluded that the addition of lemongrass flour can reduce the population of Tribolium caestaneum and maintain the crude protein content of rice bran during storage.