Poat-harvest Yield Losses on Hybrids Maize Caused by Maize Weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motsch.)

Abstract

Thirt-six hybrids maize wrer evaluated for post-harvest yield losses caused by maize weevil, as no-choice test in the laboratory at Nakhon Sawan Field Crops Research Center in 2004. The experiment was designed as a randomized complete block with 3 replications. Thirty grams of maize grain in each replication was infested with 25 un-sexed and approximately 1-7 days old adults weevil in a glass bottle to allow oviposition to take place for seven days and then removed parental adults. The study was made as a preliminary evaluation of the response of promising hybrids to maize weevil after 60 and 90 days in the storage. The parametes used for evaluating were the total number of weevil emerged, percentages of grain damaged and grain weight losses. The result showed that hybrids differed significantly for all evaluated parameters except the grain weight losses at 60 days. The positive correlation cocfficent and grain damage were also found between number of weevil.