Entomologia, ornitologia e herpetologia: pesquisas atuais
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Identification of Post-harvest Insect Pests and Determination of their Losses on Some Stored Spices at Teppi, Southwestern, Ethiopia

Wakjira Getachew, Merga Jibat

Deterioration of the grain quality during storage can be due to improper storing conditions, which leads to contamination with fungi or insect infestation. Insects are a major cause of postharvest grain losses (J. M. Adams and
G. G. M. Schulten, 1976). This study was conducted during the year 2018-2019 for two years at Teppi Agricultural Research Center for the objective of identifying the major insects causing postharvest loss on the selected spices, to know the economic significance of these postharvest insect pests and to initiate appropriate control measures for post-harvest insect pests. Black pepper weight loss due to moisture was the least and Turmeric weight loss due to insect pest was the highest. This shows that the highest turmeric weight loss was due to its high moisture content. The minimum weight loss and no insects were observed on Black pepper. This indicates that Black pepper with proper storage practices can stay without any insect damage for many years. The other two spices are infested by insect pests and highly loss their weight. The insect observed on this storage period was only two species (Cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) and Red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) and the economic significance on cardamom and turmeric is very high. In the future control measures must design for the identified insect pest.