Help protect Queensland and prevent the spread of serious pests and

diseases. Before you move plants, plant products or related items such
as soil and machinery, check and make sure you comply with the
relevant quarantine restrictions. If you supply produce to interstate
markets remember to check with interstate authorities before sending.

Bio-based products are emerging worldwide as a valuable new

industry.

Bio-based industrial products are defined as industrial and consumer

products manufactured from renewable materials using advanced
processes.

Historically, the bio-based products sector has produced transport

fuels for domestic purposes using first-generation processes involving
the fermentation of corn and sugar. The emergence of new technology
for converting material will allow the production of more sustainable
fuels.

Future opportunities
Oil and other fossil fuels still power the world’s cities and industries,
and are used to make the vast majority of our chemical products.
However, diminishing oil reserves, and the effects of greenhouse gases
and climate change, means we must develop cleaner, greener and
renewable alternatives.

Bio-based products fit that description. In the future, plants such as

sorghum, algae, sugarcane, short rotation woody crops and forest
waste will be transformed into plastics, industrial chemicals and
aviation fuels.

Queensland is well placed to become a leader in this new industry. We

have established a world-class network of research facilities, expertise
in crop development and biotechnology, a stable economy and a
strategic location in the region.

Introduction
The lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera
Bostrichidae) is an important stored grain pest.
Adults of the lesser grain borer are long lived; males
and females reared on wheat at 32.3 °C and 70% RH
live in average 19.67 and 17.21 weeks respectively
(Birch, 1953). Females need to feed for about 15 days
before starting to egg lay (Schwardt, 1933). Fecundity is
influenced by temperature and moisture content of food,
and it is largest at temperatures between 26 and 34 °C
and a m.c. of 9-14% (Howe, 1950). The whole life cycle
(from egg to adult) is completed in 25 days at the optimal
conditions of temperature and m.c., that are 34 °C
and 14% respectively (Birch, 1945, 1953).
In the future, grain protection and disinfestation from
stored products insects will rely on alternative methods
due to increasing legal restrictions and insecticide resistance.
Modification of grain temperatures below the
optimal values for insect reproduction and survival is a
viable alternative for stored grain protection. Cooling of
stored grain offers several advantages including decreased
or cessation of feeding, reproduction stops, and
mold production, even at moderately elevated humidity,
is greatly reduced (Baldo et al., 1987). Insects accustomed
to warm environment die in a fairly short period.
Death may be due to an accumulation of toxic products
(Wigglesworth, 1965), or, also, the incapability to feed
(Fields and White, 1997). Moreover grain chilling is a
feasible technique to avoid reinfestation from insect
pests, and it is also economically advantageous in comparison
to traditional conditioning and insecticide treatments
of stored-products (Rulon et al., 1999).
Objectives of this study were to assess egg hatching,
reproduction, and adult of the lesser grain borer under
temperatures of 3, 7, 12, 17, and 27 °C.
Materials and methods
A culture of R. dominica was started from adults coming
from the stock-colony, reared on soft wheat maintained
at 27 °C, at the laboratory of the "Servizio Fitosanitario,
Regione Emilia Romagna, sede di Ravenna".
The experimental feeding substrate for the insects
consisted of soft wheat, cv. Genio. The wheat was
treated at 80 °C for two hours into stove and then kept
until use in 50-litre PVC tanks with a hermetic seal
screw cap.
Before starting experiments a culture was set up in order
to obtain adults of known age (i. e. the number of
days from emergence from pupal cell). At this purpose
the grains used for the mass rearing were sieved and
adults collected were divided in seven groups of ten
specimens of mixed age and sex; each group was put
into a 11-cm Petri dish, and feed with 2 g/specimen of
wheat grains. The presence of eggs was checked daily.
Once eggs were found inside a Petri dish, adults were
discharged and grains with eggs were put in a 2-liter
glass jar together with 1000 g of feeding substrate. The
jars were closed with a metal cap which had a 4.5-cm
diameter hole closed with a fine-mesh brass net to prevent
insects from escaping and to allow air circulation,
and were maintained in an incubator at the temperature
of 27 ± 1 °C.
The adults of R. dominica used in our experiments
were obtained by sieving daily the jar content with 2
sieves of 1.7 and 0.4 mm. Groups of 6-18 unsexed
adults were then transferred to 11-cm Petri dishes with 2
g grain/specimen (moisture content of wheat was 11%)
and sealed with Parafilm. Three age classes of insects
were formed according to the time from their emergence:
1-3 d old; 4-5 d old and 6-7 d old. Each class of
insects was tested at the following temperatures: 3, 7,
132
12, 17 and 27 °C (control). There were 3 replicates per
experimental treatment. The dishes were checked daily
to count and remove the dead insects. Following removal
of dead insects, dishes were immediately placed
back in the same incubator at the tested temperatures.
After the death of the last specimen in each group the
dish was checked to detect eggs: every grain was observed
under a binocular microscope and in case of
finding eggs, usually deposited singly or in groups
along the ventral furrow, the grain with eggs was isolated
with a paper cylinder. Dishes were then placed in
an environmental chamber maintained at 27 ± 1 °C in
order to allow the egg hatching and insect development.
After 50 days, i.e. approximately the time necessary to
complete the development from egg to adult (Hagstrum
and Flinn, 1994; Hagstrum, 1996), the dishes were
checked again for offspring.
The survival of R. dominica adults at the tested temperatures
was calculated as daily percent of survivors
transformed to Probits and regression of Probits on
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61 66 71
3 °C
7 °C
12 °C
17 °C
27 °C
0
20
40
60
80
100
(%)
days
Figure 1. The survivorship of R. dominica adults exposed
to different temperatures.
natural logarithm of time were calculated. Then the lethal
time (LT) for 5%, 50% and 95% for each temperature
and class of age were estimated using the linear
calibration technique (Snedecor and Cochran, 1967) and
compared by two way ANOVA with means separation
procedure following the method of Fisher's least significant
difference (LSD).
Results and discussion
The times required to kill the 5%, 50% and 95% of the
tested insects varied significantly among temperatures
but not age of beetles (table 1).
About the differences in mortality level obtained at
different temperatures it is possible to note that the insects
started to die faster at the control temperature than
at the lower temperatures tested (figure 1). In fact at the
temperature of 27 °C the 5% of the insects died just after
1.12 day whereas the same level of mortality was
reached after 2.27 days at 3 °C. For this level of mortality
no differences occurred among temperatures of 7, 12
and 17 °C. The time required to kill the fifty percent of
beetles (LT50) was also affected by the temperature. In
this case the level 50% of mortality was reached faster
by the insects exposed to 3 °C, followed by those exposed
at the temperatures of 27 °C and 7 °C. No difference
in LT50 was observed between the specimens
maintained at 12 and 17 °C. Finally, it was demonstrated
that the 95% of insects were killed faster at the
lowest temperature (12.5 days). At the temperature of
7 °C the same level of mortality was reached in about 21
days. No differences were observed between the control
temperature (27 °C) and those of 17 or 12 °C (table 2).
About the ability of the beetles to reproduce under low
temperatures, it was noted that within the range of temperatures
between 27 and 7 °C the insects were able to
oviposit. Only in a Petri dish maintained at 17 °C the
eggs were absent. In any case none of them, with the
Table 1. Two way ANOVA for regression curves of Probit on Natural logarithm (Ln) of
time.
LT5 LT50 LT95
df Mean
square F p df Mean
square F p df Mean
square F p
Age 2 0.24 0.78 0.47 2 0.02 0.22 0.81 2 0.04 0.17 0.85
Temperatures 4 6.77 21.82 <0.0001 4 2.77 26.24 <0.0001 4 3.85 16.38 <0.0001
Interaction 8 0.13 0.43 0.89 8 0.12 1.21 0.33 8 0.19 0.82 0.59
Residual 30 0.31 30 0.11 30 0.24
Table 2. Comparison of LT at different temperatures by 95% LSD.
Temperatures
(°C) n LT5
(days)
95% confidence
interval
LT50
(days)
95% confidence
interval
LT95
(days)
95% confidence
interval
3 9 2.27 b (1.55-3.31) 5.34 d (4.28-6.66) 12.57 c (9.03-17.49)
7 9 5.80 a (3.97-8.47) 11.00 b (8.82-13.73) 20.89 b (15.01-29.06)
12 9 7.55 a (5.17-11.03) 16.53 a (13.25-20.63) 36.19 a (26.01-50.36)
17 9 8.31 a (5.69-12.15) 21.44 a (17.19-26.75) 55.31 a (39.76-76.96)
27 9 1.12 c (0.77-1.64) 8.05 c (6.45-10.04) 57.58 a (41.39-80.12)
Within a column means followed by the same letter are not significantly different.
133
Table 3. Eggs laid by R. dominica adults exposed to different temperatures.
adults emerged within
1-3 days
adults emerged within
4-5 days
adults emerged within
Temperatures 6-7 days
(°C) Petri dishes
with eggs
Petri dishes
without eggs
Petri dishes
with eggs
Petri dishes
without eggs
Petri dishes
with eggs
Petri dishes
without eggs
3031212
7303030
12 3 0 3 0 3 0
17 3 0 3 0 2 1
27 3 0 3 0 3 0
exception of those laid at the control temperature (27
°C), were hatched after 50 days of incubation at 27 °C.
In contrast, at the temperature of 3 °C, the oviposition
was strongly affected, mainly for the younger insects
tested (table 3).
Conclusions
The exposure of R. dominica adults to low temperatures
apparently caused a delay of mortality compared to the
insect maintained at optimal temperature of 27 °C. This
effect was probably due to a general slowing down of
the metabolic activity of the insect which affected also
the rate of mortality. This effect was observed also for
the mortality level of fifty percent of the insects. In fact
this level of killed insects was obtained faster at the
control temperature than at the temperatures of 17, 12
and 7 °C. Only the lowest temperature of 3 °C caused
an increase of mortality rate of the beetles. In any case,
for the purposes of a cold treatment is more interesting
to discriminate the temperatures that can cause the faster
decline of an adult population of insects. In our experiments
the death of the 95% of the R. dominica adults
was significantly faster only at 3 or 7 °C but not at
higher temperatures. In fact at 7 °C we should expect a
quite complete decline of the population after about 21
days.
The low temperatures affected also the ability of the
lesser grain borer to reproduce. In fact, with the assumption
that the unsexed adult tested were at a sex ratio
of 50%, as shown by Faroni and García-Mari (1992),
we mainly noted a reduction in egg survival or egg vitality
rather than in the ability to oviposit. In fact in our
experiments we emphasized that the females of R. dominica
can lay eggs also at a temperature of 3 °C, well
below the thermic threshold of 16 °C observed for egg
deposition by Golębiowska (1962). In any case none of
the eggs hatched, so the ability to reproduce was completely
inhibited at temperatures equal or under 17 °C.
This happens when the insect is not subjected to cold
acclimation. On the contrary the lesser grain borer is
able to reproduce until 5 °C (Hagstrum and Flinn,
1994).
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr Paolo Visini for his support
in data collection.
References
BALDO R., MARCHETTI A., BRUNNER H., 1987.- Conservazione
dei cereali con la refrigerazione.- Tecnica molitoria, 38 (3):
202-227.
BIRCH L. C., 1945.- The influence of temperature on the development
of the different stages of Calandra oryzae L. and
Rhizopertha dominica Fab. (Coleoptera).- Australian Journal
of Experimental Biology and Medical Science, 23 (1):
29-35.
BIRCH L. C., 1953.- Experimental background to the study of
the distribution and abundance of insects. I. The influence of
temperature, moisture and food on the innate capacity for
increase of three grain beetles.- Ecology, 34 (4): 698-711.
FARONI L. R. A., GARCÍA-MARI F., 1992.- Influencia de la
temperatura sobre los parámetros biológicos de Rhyzopertha
dominica (F.).- Boletin de Sanidad Vegetal. Plagas, 18: 455-
467.
FIELDS P. G., WHITE N. D. G., 1997.- Survival and multiplication
of stored-product beetles at simulated and actual winter
temperatures.- Canadian Entomologist, 129: 887-898.
GOLĘBIOWSKA Z., 1962.- Contribution to studies on the ecology
of the lesser grain borer - Rhyzopertha dominica F.
(Col., Bostrichidae).- Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne. Seria
B, 1-2 (25-26): 39-51.
HAGSTRUM D. W., 1996.- Monitoring and predicting population
growth of Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera:
Bostrichidae) over a range of environmental conditions.-
Environmental Entomology, 25 (6): 1354-1359.
HAGSTRUM D. W., FLINN P. W., 1994.- Survival of Rhyzopertha
dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) in stored wheat under
fall and winter temperature conditions.- Environmental
Entomology, 23 (2): 390-395.
HOWE R. W., 1950.- The development of Rhizopertha dominica
(F.) (Col., Bostrichidae) under constant conditions.- Entomologist’s
monthly magazine, 86 (11): 1-5.
RULON R. A., MAYER D. E., BOEHLJE M. D., 1999.- A postharvest
economic model to evaluate grain chilling as an IPM
technology.- Journal of Stored Products Research, 35: 369-
383.
SCHWARDT H. H., 1933.- Life history of the lesser grain
borer.- Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 6 (2):
61-65.
The lesser grain borer is the major pest of stored wheat in most of the
world, and it has developed resistance to some of the insecticides used
for its control. Thus, there is a need to develop alternative treatments
for control of the lesser grain borer and other insect pests of stored
wheat. We evaluated the bacterial insecticide spinosad and the insect
growth regulator methoprene alone and in combination for control of
six insect pests of stored wheat. Neither insecticide alone completely
controls all insect pests of stored wheat. The specific combinations of
spinosad and methoprene evaluated in our study would have no
benefit over spinosad used alone for control of any of the six species
tested.
Evaluation of Reference Genes for Quantitative PCR across Life-
Cycle Stages and Tissue Types of Tribolium castaneum
The ability to compare RNA levels among experimental treatments is
employed in many areas of agricultural research including gene
expression studies. We evaluated the appropriateness of specific genes
for their use as controls (normalizers) in gene expression studies by
evaluating nine potential normalizers across both developmental
stages and tissue types of insects. We found several normalizer genes
that are suitable for broad scale analysis of gene expression, and we
also demonstrated that it is essential to validate normalizers for the
experimental conditions tested and also for the specific instruments
and/or methods employed in a study.
• Brenda Oppert, telephone: 785-776-2780,
email:brenda.oppert@ars.usda.gov

Susceptibility of Various Life Stages of Rhyzopertha

dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) to Flameless Catalytic
Infrared Radiation
The lesser grain borer is one of the most damaging insect pests of
stored wheat in the US, and there are few insecticides that are
registered for control of this pest. In collaboration with scientists at
Kansas State University, we conducted experiments to determine the
effectiveness of infrared radiation to kill different stages of lesser grain
borers inside wheat kernels using a catalytic heater operating on
propane gas. The grain temperatures attained were influenced by
wheat quantity, distance from the emitter, and exposure time. In
general, higher grain temperatures were attained in 113.5 g of wheat
as opposed to 227.0 g, at 8.0 cm from the emitter surface rather than
at 12.7 cm, and during a 60-second exposure compared to a 45-
second exposure. Old larvae were less susceptible to infrared radiation
than young larvae. Probability of death was 94-100% for all life stages
when the wheat was exposed for 1 minute at a distance of 8.0 cm
from the emitter. These results show that flameless catalytic infrared
technology may be a viable option for disinfestation of stored wheat in
the future.
Ecological interactions in nature suggest a long history of plant synthesized chemical use
by insects whic
have been molded during the course of evolution. These chemicals, generally termed
Phytochemicals, ar
often distasteful and toxic to many insects. However, specialist insect herbivores feed on
many suc
compounds, as they are able to process these natural products in a manner that is
beneficial to them.
Blum (1992) while describing the virtuosity of insects in adaptively utilizing plant
compound
successfully highlighted the fact that compounds that constitute allelochemical
effronteries for mo
herbivores have become critically important to a variety of specialists that feed on plants
containing thes
natural products. These phytophages have penetrated the plant’s allelochemical defenses
and it is perhap
not surprising that some insect species have in turn utilized these alleochemicals as
powerful defensiv
allomones against their pathogens and predators. The function of phytochemicals has
diversified ov
evolutionary time in a number of selected herbivores to include communication,
reproduction, antibiosi
and feeding.
From the biopesticidal point of view, phytochemicals do possess anti-insect properties
which are eith
purely insecticidal or act as feeding deterrents, growth inhibitors, growth regulators,
repellents, o
oviposition inhibitors against a variety of insect species. Accordingly, Chapter 1 of this
volum
“Biopesticides based on Phytochemicals” by Isman describes some biopesticides which
were developed i
North America with the aim of producing commercially marketable phytochemical
biopesticides.
Some phytochemicals (for example cyanogenic glycosides or phenylpropanoids) remain
in their no
toxic form within the plant and are only converted to toxic compounds after ingestion by
phytophagou
insects (Koul 1995). Alternatively, a number of plant species also generate
photoactivated compounds th
are highly toxic to insects after ingestion and these have been a topic of discussion in
many reviews in rece
years. These phototoxins can act as photosensitizers, generally highly toxic reactive
oxygen specie
including singlet oxygen and free radicals. These forms of oxygen manifest their
pronounced toxicity b
oxidatively transforming a variety of key biochemicals such as nucleic acids. However, to
pin point th
activity of such a variety of phytochemicals, an advanced approach to bioevaluation is
required, becaus
many activities may not be predicted by conventional bioassays. Tissue culture
techniques have been use
in recent years, which have also helped to understand the mode-of-action of many active
compounds. Thi
aspect has been explained comprehensively by Koul in Chapter 2 on “Phytochemicals
and Insect Ce
Culture Bioassays” which emphasizes that these procedures are fast, precise and permit
analyses of a larg
number of compounds both individually and in combination.

Biopesticides, key components of integrated pest management (IPM) programmes, are receiving
much practical attention as a means to reduce the load of synthetic chemical products being used
to control plant diseases. In most cropping systems, biological pesticides should not necessarily
be viewed as wholesale replacements for chemical control of plant pests and diseases, but rather
as a growing category of efficacious supplements that can be used as rotation agents to retard
the onset of resistance to chemical pesticides and improve sustainability. In organic cropping
systems, biopesticides can represent valuable tools that further supplement the rich collection of
cultural practices that ensure against crop loss to diseases.
Biopesticides for use against crop diseases have already established themselves on a variety of
crops. For example, biopesticides already play an important role in controlling downy mildew
diseases. Their benefits include: a 0-Day Pre-Harvest Interval (see: maximum residue limit), the
ability to use under moderate to severe disease pressure, and the ability to use as a tank mix or
in a rotational program with other registered fungicides. Because some market studies estimate
that as much as 20% of global fungicide sales are directed at downy mildew diseases, the
integration of biofungicides into grape production has substantial benefits in terms of extending
the useful life of other fungicides, especially those in the reduced-risk category.

A major growth area for biopesticides is in the area of seed treatments and soil amendments.
Fungicidal and biofungicidal seed treatments are used to control soil borne fungal pathogens that
cause seed rots, damping-off, root rot and seedling blights. They can also be used to control
internal seed–borne fungal pathogens as well as fungal pathogens that are on the surface of the
seed. Many biofungicidal products also show capacities to stimulate plant host defenses and
other physiological processes that can make treated crops more resistant to a variety of biotic
and abiotic stresses.

Nirmali(Strychnos Potatorum)

Enlarged View
English Name: Clearing Nut Tree Botnical Name: Strychnos potatorum Linn. Comman Name:
Nirmali,Chilladabeeja, Chilu,Tetamkotai, Tetankotai, Tetta, Tettamaram, Tettran,Katak, Kataka,
Kataka Ambuprasada Family: Loganiaceae (Strychnaceae). Parts Used: Seeds, roots and fruits
Discription: The nuts of this species of Strychnos are very largely used in some parts of India for
clearing muddy water, and are stated to have found their way into American commerce. (A. J. P.,
1871.) The fruit is also employed by the native practitioners of Hindostan, under the name of
nirmali, as an emetic and in dysentery. They do not contain strychnine. In clearing water, one of
the dried nuts is rubbed hard for a short time around the inside of the earthen water pot; on
settling, the water is left pure and tasteless. The seeds contain a large quantity of an albuminous
principle, upon which their virtues probably depend. The tree, which grows to a very large size,
produces a shining, black, one-seeded berry (that of the nux vomica being many-seeded). The
seeds are described (P. J., 1871, 44) as broadly lenticular, about half an inch in diameter and a
quarter of an inch in thickness, of a dirty whitish-gray color, and covered with a thick coating of
delicate appressed hairs. Uses: 1.Seeds are used to purify water. 2.Seeds are rich source of
polysaccharide gum suitable for use in paper and textile industries. 3.The fruits are emetic,
diaphoretic alexiteric etc. According to Unani system of medicine, seeds are bitter, astringent to
bowels, aphrodisiac, tonic, diuretic and good for liver, kidney complaints, gonorrhea.
Posting Date : 21 Sep, 2010

Lesser grain borer (Rhyzopertha dominica) is a strong and widespread pest of

whole cereal grains and most serious in hot dry conditions.

Adults are strong fliers and their head invisible when viewed from above. Adults
bore through grains and have an approximate length of 2.5-3 mm.

Lesser grain borers have a maximum population growth rate of 20x per month.
Their larvae lives concealed in grain or flour.

Identification
The Lesser Grain Borer is a small black or dark brown beetle. The body is slender and
cylindrical. The head is hidden under the prothorax which is finely textured with bumps and
dimples. The elytra (hardened front wings forming the shell) have rows of pits along their
length. The antennae have 10 segments with the last 3 forming a club shape. The larvae are
white, stout and c-shaped.

Size
adults are 2mm - 3mm long

Food
The lesser grain borer is a serious pest of stored grain and cereal products. The adults and
larvae bore into grain seeds and eat the kernel leaving a hollow husk. They are mainly a pest
in stored wheat and corn, but can also infest nuts, beans, dried fruit, peanuts and various
other types of stored food.

Breeding
Adult females lay their eggs singly or in groups of up to thirty eggs. The eggs are laid on the
outside of a grain or in the powdered "flour" from damaged seeds. The lifecycle from egg to
adult takes about 60 days, but may take as few as 30 days in warm conditions. The larva
pupates inside as hollow seed or in the accumulated powdered flour from the infestation.

Classification
Class: Insecta

Order: Coleoptera

Family: Bostrichidae

Genus: Rhyzopertha

Species: dominica
Common Name: Lesser Grain Borer