A new incidence of red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum Herbst) in stored true potato seeds

The increasing world population and consequent demands for agricultural products have led to acritical situation especially in India in terms of food availability. Productivity of food grains, vegetables and fruits has to be increased from a limited area in spite of many problems, among which pest and diseases come first. The potato is one of the most widely grown vegetable throughout the world and insect pests are one of the most important factor causing significant economic damages to potatoes in field as well as storage conditions. Different types of insects have been observed in field as well as in country stores at ambient temperatures attacking potato foliage and tubers, but a new pest has been reported in the present work encountered in untreated true potato seed (TPS) in country stores. Mucilage and bits of fruit tissue were observed to attract the pest. TPS treatment with HCl and sodium hypochlorite was proved effective against this pest as well the eggs coming through dirt and debris in country stores.