author(s)
Prajakta Tilak and Parna Bhadra

abstract
Voracious feeding on whole grain by Sitophilus oryzae causes serious damage to various grains in store houses as well as domestic storages. The use of chemical insecticides or pesticides is the first line of defence to control the pest. But the next step is the proper selection of a botanical insecticide which is biodegradable and eco-friendly. Biological rearing of S. oryzae was done on four crop grains namely, Rice, Wheat, Jowar and Bajra. It was observed that four different types of grains show variation in the duration of life cycle. The larval duration also differs with different grains. Grains treated with bio-pesticide made from Annona squamosa (Custard apple) seeds revealed that the pest population grown purely on different grains had different mortality.