Effects of PICS bags on insect pests of sorghum during long-term storage in Burkina Faso.
Antoine Waongo, Fousséni Traore, Malick N Ba, Clémentine Dabire-Binso, Larry L Murdock, Dieudonné Baributsa, Antoine Sanon
Author Information
Antoine Waongo: Laboratoire Central d'Entomologie Agricole de Kamboinsé (LCEA-K), Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), 01 BP 476 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso.
Fousséni Traore: Laboratoire Central d'Entomologie Agricole de Kamboinsé (LCEA-K), Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), 01 BP 476 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso.
Malick N Ba: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Niamey, Niger.
Clémentine Dabire-Binso: Laboratoire Central d'Entomologie Agricole de Kamboinsé (LCEA-K), Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), 01 BP 476 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso.
Larry L Murdock: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, 901 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
Dieudonné Baributsa: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, 901 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
Antoine Sanon: Laboratoire d'Entomologie Fondamentale et Appliquée, UFR/SVT, Université Ouaga I Pr Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso.
The PICS bags, originally developed for cowpea storage, were evaluated for sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) preservation. Batches of 25 kg of sorghum grain were stored in 50 kg PICS or polypropylene (PP) bags under ambient conditions for 12 months and assessed for the presence of insect pests and their damage, seed viability and, oxygen and carbon dioxide variations. The grain was incubated for 35 days to assess whether any insects would emerge. After six months of storage, oxygen levels decreased in the PICS bags compared to polypropylene bags. After 12 months of storage, only two pests, and were found in the PICS bags. However, in PP bags there were additional pests including and and . Grain weight loss and damage caused by these insects in the PP bags were significantly higher compared to those stored in PICS bags. Germination rates of sorghum grains stored in PP bags decreased significantly while no changes were observed in grains stored in PICS bags when compared to the initial germination. After the incubation post storage period, there was a resurgence of R. dominica in sorghum grains from PICS bags but the population levels were significantly lower compared to polypropylene bags. PICS bags preserved the quality and viability of stored sorghum grains and protected it from key insect pests. The PICS technology is effective for long-term sorghum storage but the potential resurgence of insects in low-oxygen environment calls for further research.
