Evaluation of sweet wormwood (artemisia annua l.) as stored grain protectant against maize storage weevil (sitophilus zeamays, motschulsky) and larger grain borer (prostephanus truncatus, horn) on stored maize grains

African Journal of Science and Research,2016; (5)3:07-10The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effects of Artemisia annua powder on the mortality of S. zeamays and P. truncatus in the treated maize grain. The experiments were set up as a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. The experiments were conducted in SUA Pest Management Centre(SPMC) for 8 weeks. The treatments consisted of different levels of natural protectant A. annua powder (viz: 0.5 g, 1.0 g and 10 g) and untreated control. Actellic Super Dust was included as a standard insecticide control. The data collected included the number of dead and live insects, number of damaged maize grains and percentage damage. Grains treated with Actellic dust, and A. annua powder at all tested levels had significantly controlled S. zeamays insect. Maize seeds treated with Actellic Super Dust surpassed other treatments in controlling P. truncatus due to lower number of live insects and damaged seeds. Artemisia annua at 1.0 g and 10 g had an effect on number of damaged seeds and dead insects as compared to the control. Generally, A. annua powder is effective in controlling these tested storage pest species of maize grains