Elevated CO2 and Nanoparticles for the Management of Pulse Beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis L. in Stored Chickpea

Background: Pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis L. is a primary pest of stored chickpea which causes 50-60 per cent loss in seed weight and 45.5-66.3 per cent loss in protein content of the seeds and injudicious and indiscriminate use of hazardous synthetic chemicals for preventing storage losses in chickpea may lead to human and animal health issues due to residual hazards. Therefore, the biorational management of the pulse beetle in stored chickpea has been undertaken keeping biology in mind will prevent the loss as well as protect human health hazard. Methodos: The experiments on various non-chemical biorational approaches like effect of elevated levels of CO2 and application of nano particles which control the test insect effectively but have less toxicity to non-target organisms and the environment were studied in the Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha during 2018-2021. Result: The results showed that elevated levels of CO2 at 60 and 80 per cent for 150 and 30 minutes respectively resulted in cent per cent mortality of the bruchids. Among the nano particles, nano silica and nano zinc applied @1000 ppm and 750 ppm realized the highest mortality of the bruchids.