Manuscript Abstract

REPELLENCY OF LOCAL DIATOMACEOUS EARTH ON WHEAT AGAINST SOME COLEOPTERAN STORED-PRODUCT PESTS
Ali Bayram, Ali Arda ISIKBER

A. Bayram¹*, A. A. ISIKBER²

¹ Mus Alparslan University,
² Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University,

Corresponding Author: ali.bayram@alparslan.edu.tr
Page Number(s): 1666-1678
Published Online First: October 08, 2025
Publication Date: November 30, 2025
ABSTRACT

In this study, the repellent effect of a local diatomaceous earth (DE) formulation (Demite®) was evaluated on monolayer and bulk wheat against three coleopteran stored-grain pests: the lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius), Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), the confused flour beetle (Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val, Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and the rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae (L.), Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Two-choice tests were conducted to assess insect behavior on treated and untreated surfaces at a DE concentration of 1000 ppm. The experiments measured insect preferences on monolayer wheat surfaces and within bulk wheat at specific observation intervals. The repellency tests were performed under controlled conditions: 25 ± 1 °C temperature, 65 ± 5% relative humidity, and complete darkness in an insect growth room. The repellency of Demite® significantly varied between application methods. On monolayer wheat, the strongest response was observed for T. confusum (97%), followed by S. oryzae (72%) and R. dominica (56%). In contrast, bulk wheat tests showed higher repellency for S. oryzae (90%) and T. confusum (89.3%), while R. dominica exhibited lower responsiveness (53.3%). Significant differences in repellency among the insect species were detected. Sitophilus oryzae and T. confusum exhibited strong repellency across all observation periods, whereas R. dominica was less affected by DE-treated wheat. In conclusion, the local DE formulation demonstrated notable repellent properties, making it a valuable tool in stored grain pest control strategies.

Keywords: Demite®, Integrated pest management, Monolayer wheat, Repellent effect, Two-choice tests
Open Access: This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).


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