Evaluation of Quantitative and Qualitative Losses on Millet and White Rice in Storage Grains Caused by Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) in Senegal

Abstract

In Senegal, millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and rice (Oryza sativa (L., 1753)) are the most widely consumed foods. This study is part of improving the conservation of these two cereals in Senegal by assessing the quantitative and qualitative losses caused by a lepidopteran, Corcyra cephalonica (Stainton) subservient to millet and rice stocks. For this purpose, samples of millet and rice from an area of the center of the groundnut basin (Diourbel) were collected, sterilized in the cold and infected with C. cephalonica eggs from the same locality. These infected samples were tracked during a development period of two successive generations. The samples were scrutinized before being infected and after a larval cycle of codling moth. The results showed that rice grains are richer in water (10.75% ± 0.4249%, on average) than millet (9.40% ± 0.3944%, on average) and the difference in rank is very significant (p-value = 0.0001 Moreover, the attack percentage on millet grains is three times higher (36.31% ± 25.18%) than rice (12.95% ± 6.69%) with a non-significant difference (p-value = 0.296 > 0.05). A similar trend is observed at the loss percentage, which is four times higher with millet grains (8.67% ± 5.07%) than rice (2.86% ± 2.75%) with a non-significant difference (p-value = 0.835 > 0.05). A multiple linear regression showed a generation effect on millet for the attack percentage and a generation and cereal effect for the percentage of weight loss on rice.