Eco-Friendly Pellets Based on Sweet Flag, Acorus calamus and Sesame Oil for Postharvest Insect Pest Management

Abstract

Insect pest infestation has become significant problem for sustainable food supply in the world. These cause great waste in stored food. Application of synthetic pesticides has resulted in resistance development in insects and also posed a safety concern for human health. This has triggered the need to use environmentally friendly alternatives. Hence, the present research was designed to assess the plant extract based pellets of the rhizome extract Acorus calamus and sesame oil for the control of storage grains insect pests. Populations of two insect species, Sitophilus spp. and Tribolium castaneum, were obtained from paddy and rice storage areas in Bantaeng Regency in the South Sulawesi. Pelletized attractants were prepared through mixing A. calamus extract or sesame oil with maize or rice bran and adhesive traps were used to compare. Two- factorial Completely Randomized Design and 1 control, and 2 types of packaging and four formulations of the pellets were used where 3 replications were used (27 experimental units). The measure of attractiveness was done through the four-arm olfactometer, which found the abundance of insects, the percentage of attraction, and the longevity of the attraction with a period of four weeks. GC–MS was used to analyze the volatile compounds. The analysis revealed an α-, β-, and γ-asarone as the major components (56.9%), with the minor presence of sesquiterpenoids and aromatic alcohols, which were expected by insect behavior responses. Findings revealed that the unpackaged, unpackaged+A. calamus-sesame oil pellets were found to be the most attractive and lasted 13- 14 days in attractiveness, as opposed to low-feed or the packaged pellets which lasted 3-6 days. The greatest response was in treatment P1K1-Unpackaged+A. calamus + sesame oil + 15% maize, which had 45 Sitophilus and 36 T. castaneum individuals within Week 4. Overall results disclosed that high-feed have a high and persistent olfactory appeal, which is triggered by asarone-rich volatiles, providing a promising and eco-friendly option in the postharvest pest management. Keywords: Insect attractant, natural plant extract, postharvest pest management, Sitophilus spp.; Tribolium castaneum.

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