Invasive alien plant species aqueous extracts in a war against the granary weevil (Sitophilus granarius [L.]) – are they long-term effective or can they only win the Battle of Cannae?

Curk, Miha (author), Podgornik Milosavljević, Matej (author), Košir, Iztok Jože (author), Šilc, Urban (author), Bohinc, Tanja (author), Trdan, Stanislav (author)

This study investigates the effectiveness of plant-based extracts in repelling the granary weevil (Sitophilus granarius), a common storage pest causing significant economic losses. The selected plant species (Canadian goldenrod, giant goldenrod, indigo bush, staghorn sumac, and tree of heaven), were examined for their repellent effects on weevils in grain samples. Surprisingly, the short-term repellent effects observed after 24 h diminished after 3 days, suggesting potential challenges for practical applications, especially in long-term grain storage. Temperature emerged as a significant environmental factor, influencing weevil behavior. Lower temperatures created an illusion of increased effectiveness, while higher temperatures accelerated weevil reproduction. Commercial product NeemAzal, despite its reputation for effectiveness, proved the least potent among all treatments, raising questions about its applicability in such cases. Progeny emergence tests indicated no significant differences between treatments, emphasizing the ineffectiveness of the extracts in sustaining long-term repellent effects. The study concludes that while plant-based extracts may offer short-term victories in pest control, their long-term efficacy remains uncertain. The complex interplay of factors, including temperature and humidity, highlights the challenges in developing sustainable and practical solutions for grain storage pest control, necessitating careful consideration by real-world users.

• Language: English
• Keywords: plant-based extracts, repellent effect, storage pest control, NeemAzal, progeny emergence, environmental factors, sustainable pest management
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 9 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 109, art. 102434
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-162999
• UDC: 632
• ISSN on article: 0022-474X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jspr.2024.102434
• COBISS.SI-ID: 209533699
• Publication date in RUL: 30.09.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Journal of stored products research
• Shortened title: J. stored prod. res.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0022-474X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 6568455

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: invazivne rastinske vrste, vodni ekstrakt, skladiščni škodljivci, rižev žužek, odvračala, odvračalni učinek

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: L4-3178
• Name: Razvoj in optimizacija nekemičnih načinov zatiranja rastlinskih škodljivcev z namenom njihove implementacije v sisteme trajnostnega kmetijstva

• Funder: Other - Other funder or multiple funders
• Funding programme: Republic of Slovenia, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food