author(s)
Ruchika Kataria and NV Kulkarni

abstract
The present study was conducted to know the efficacies of various attractants/repellants (using Y- Tube olfactometer) on larvae and adults stages of Khapra beetle. Eight essential oils of plants were tested. The result revealed that Citronella oil as the most potent attractant against the larvae (76.6%); Wheat germ oil and Sesame oil act as a same (73.3%) for adults, while the Almond oil showed (100%) repulsive effect for larvae and Coconut oil showed (86.6%) repulsive effect for adults. The essential oils can be organized in descending order according to the repellant effect for larvae: Almond oil> Camphor oil>Mustard oil>Tea tree oil>Coconut oil and for adults: Coconut oil>Almond oil>Camphor oil > Mustard oil > Tea tree oil. According to an attractive effect for larvae: Citronella oil>Sesame oil>Wheat germ oil and for adults: Sesame oil >Wheat germ oil >Citronella oil. The repulsive index (RI) and attractive index (AI) were calculated for both the stages of beetles. The responsiveness (χ2 = goodness to fit) against attractants/ repellants for finding out the significant values in respective to beetle were recorded. The study also confirmed that some oils such as Citronella oil causes toxicity in beetles due to strong fragrance. Hence, the information contained in this paper emphasized on the novel dispensing system as a pull – push strategy under laboratory conditions to identify the proper management practices in Integrated Pest Management (IPM).