Important pests of stored grains.

(A) Cereals:

a:- Internal Feeders:-

1. Rice weevil- (Sitophilus oryzae). Both adults and larvae attack on grain and make it unfit for consumption as well as for seed purposes. It feeds on rice, wheat, barley, maize, sorghum etc

2. Lesser grain borer- (Rhizopertha dominica). The adult is more harmful than the grub. The aduls destroy healthy grains which are reduced to frass and waste flou. it feeds on wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, barley, gram etc.

3. Angoumois grain moth- (Sitotroga cerealella). The damage is caused by the larvae. The initial infestation takes place when grains is in the milk stage in the field. Infested grains are hollwed out by the larvae and reduced by their excreta and webbing. It feeds on wheat, maize, sorghum, barley, oat etc.

b:- External Feeders:-

1. Red flour beetle-(Tribolium castaneum). Stored grains and stored products such as flour, maida, suji, beans, cotton seds are attacked by it. As a rule, only damaged and broken grains are attacked. In case of severe infestation, flour and flour products turn greyish-yellow, mouldy, emit pungent smell and become unfit for human consumption. 

2. Khapra beetle-(Trogoderma granarium). Its main food is wheat, barley, sorghum, arahr, urd, peas. The damage is caused by the grubs while the adults are harmless. Grubs attack the grain generally at the embryo point and later on proceed inwards.

(B) Pulses:

1. Pulse beetle-(Pachymerus chinensis). It mainly feeds on cowpea, pea, gram, arhar, soybean, beans etc. The damage is causaed by the grubs by eating out the entire content of the grain, leaving only the shell behind. Attack of these betles oftles stars in the fields from where it reaches the stores.

2. khapra beetle-it feeds on arhar, peas, urd and has been described above.

3. Lesser grain borer-It feeds on grain and has been described above.