Lemongrass Oil Enhances the Storage Efficacy of Phosphine-Treated Grains Wheat

Abstract

Under environmental conditions of Burj El-Arab warehouse, Alexandria Governorate, Egypt, a storage experiment was carried out from 30 May 2020 to 26 February 2021 to become conscious of the effect of treatment with some chemical compounds (insecticides) i.e. deltamethrin at 1 and 2 ppm, malathion at 10 and 15 ppm and phosphine at 3 and 5 tablets/m and natural compounds (botanical oils) i.e. clove, coriander and lemongrass oils at 10 and 15% on storage efficiency of wheat after 9 months from harvesting time. The experiment had arranged in a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The lowest insect infestation percentage and grains weight loss percentage and highest number of dead insects/samples were resulted from treating wheat grains with phosphine at 5 tablets/m. Treating wheat grains with lemongrass oil at the rate of 15% recorded the lowest insect infestation percentage and grains weight loss percentage and highest number of dead insects/sample. This study recommended treating samples of wheat grains with phosphine at 5 tablets/m besides lemongrass oil at 15% to enhance storage efficacy characters under the environmental conditions of Burj El-Arab district, Alexandria Governorate, Egypt.