Insect pest infestation during storage of cereal grains, pulses and oilseeds

Abstract

Due to the increasing population day by day, the food security is the most global concern in order to fulfil the food demand for both developed and developing nations across the world. In developing countries, cereal grains are the staple food and nearly 70% of the population depends upon agriculture. In India the most challenging issue is the storage of these cereal grains. A number of insect pests deteriorate stored grains. Insect and pest infestations are major contributor to quality deterioration of stored food stuff such as cereals grains, pulses, and oil seeds. Tropical climate of India provides favourable condition for the continuous growth of insect/pests throughout the year. During storage, pests infest the grains and therefore, fulfil their food and shelter requirements by causing qualitative as well as quantitative losses of stored products. These insect pests impose the damage on stored products by direct feeding and affect the farmers because their infested grain may have a significant effect on the value of marketing, consumption, or planting. This chapter provides an overview of different types of stored grains and their infestation by major pests, and also describes various techniques for prevention of these infestations.