Insecticidal and biochemical effects of ozone against Tribolium castaneum as a serious pest on stored black seeds

Tribolium castaneum (Herbest) is a destructive insect pest of black seeds and other spices in storage. The ozone gas was assessed at concentrations of 1000, 1500 and 2000 ppm for three-time intervals (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 h) on the larval and adult mortalities. The maximum larval mortality (82.6 %) was resulted by 2000 ppm of ozone and 1 h of exposure time after 5 days. The full larval and adult mortalities were achieved at 1500 and 2000 ppm for 2 h exposure after 1 day of treatment. Also, the results demonstrated that ozone fumigation induced increasing in enzymes activities of phenoloxidase, peroxidase, glutathione S- transferase, general-esterase, adenosinetriphosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase of T. castaneum larvae. The chemical analysis of treated black seeds revealed slight increase of fat and ash components and reduction of four components (protein, moisture, carbohydrate and fiber) and compared with control. This study shows that ozone can be a good fumigant for T. castaneum management in stored black seeds.