Provender used to breed animals is constituted mainly of cereal flour. However, due
to poor post-harvest technologies, more than 35% of annual crop yield is often lost
during storage as a consequence of insect attack. While synthetic insecticides
constitute an efficient method for reducing these losses; current excessive usage runs
the risk of increasing the food insecurity. The use of entomotoxic proteins of
leguminous plant for grain storage has been advocated as an alternative method with
limited or no effect on the quality and safety of the grains or their products. This study
was carried out as an evidence of bioactivity of four flours of seeds of
Phaseolus vulgaris
,
Pisum sativum
and two varieties of
Glycine max (SJ320 and DOCKO)
against adults of
Tribolium castaneum
Herbst which is a very resistant stored product
pest to chemicals in Northern Cameroon. The growth of ten couples of
T. castaneum
in different formulations made by the mixture of sorghum flours with leguminous
seed flours is evaluated 50 days after application. The research carried out reveals that
the population of
T. castaneum is important in the soybean formulations. In the pots
of bean and pea flours, the average numbers of living pests were respectively
21.17±10.5 and 32.38±18.3 against 65.99±28.1 and 95.2±36.7 for the pots containing
soybean SJ320 and DOCKO flours, respectively. In treatments PP20 and BB20, the
number of nymphs 82.4±6.7, 86.6±2.7, respectively and the larvae V 22.2±9.9,
68.8±8.9 in that order decreases comparatively to the control 143.6±7.4, 142±12.5,
respectively. The incorporation of these promising flours of pea and bean at a rate of
20% during manufacturer of provender used to feed animals can contribute to their
better cereal food conservation and can reduce the residues of chemical pesticides in
the environment. The formulation with 20% of black beans or pea flours in sorghum
flour ensures an effective control of
T. castaneum. The development of a bio
insecticide made of flour of pea or black bean is to be considered seriously since their
residues are not poisonous to consumers. Cereals which are important and
indispensable for the production of animal feed can be preserved from insect attack by
the use of natural products, which will contribute to diminish the toxicity of chemical
preservatives used in feed, environmental pollution and the phenomenon of resistance
of insects to chemical pesticides.