Significance of Post-Harvest Treatments to Control Groundnut Pod Sucking Bug Elasmolomus sordidus F. (Hemiptera: Lygaediae) at Elnuhud Locality, West Kordofan State, Sudan

Abstract

This study was conducted in Elnuhud locality at West Kordofan State, Sudan in season 2016/2017 to assess post-harvest treatments for the control the groundnut pod bug Elasmolomus sordidus a harmful pest on oilseed crops. Two experiments were done at Eljeko village. In the first experiment three treatments were used at harvest time when the groundnut crop heaped to dry and infestation with the bug built up in the field, in the first treatment three bundles of groundnut crop were heaped on the ground, the second treatment three bundles were heaped on the ground surrounded by Wood Ash and, in the third one three bundles of the groundnut crop heaped surrounded by insecticide. The control kept away from infestation. In the second experiment 5 treatments were used, in the first one the groundnut crop bundles were put on the ground (Zero level) and in the second treatment; third; the fourth and the fifth one, Wooden bench (Rakoopa) with five levels of height were used 25 Cm; 50 Cm, 75 Cm; 100 Cm and 125 Cm. beside the control. The experiments were done using Randomized Complete Design with 4 replicates. One kilogram of groundnut pods was collected weekly for a month. In the lab 100 seeds weight obtained and loss in seed weight percentage calculated. Results showed that when infestation of the bug built up in the field the seeds stored on the ground surrounded by Wood ash had been affected significantly (P< 0.05) with obvious reduction in weight of 100 seeds while the seeds surrounded with insecticide showed no reduction in weight in comparison with the control in the first experiment. In the second experiment no significant loss (P > 0.05) in weight observed during the examination in samples taken from Wooden benches in comparison with the control. Loss in seed weight of 100 groundnut seeds reached 6% by the end of the month when bundles left on the ground and significantly differed (P< 0.05) from the control and the wooden benches treatments. We concluded that use of wooden benches treatments significantly kept the crop from the pod bug damage even in low height (25 Cm). Although, the use of pesticide gave the same result but the expected chemical residues raised concept of using Wooden benches as method of control and might be alternative for the control the pod bug and extremely suggested.