Efficacy of plant powders and vegetable oils against Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) on stored green gram

Ten different plants powders viz., leaf and seed coat of Zanthoxylum oxyphyllum Edgw.; seed of Litsea citrata Bl.; leaf, seed coat and kernel of Azadirachta indica A. Juss.; leaf, seed coat and kernel of Melia azedarach L. and seed of Piper nigrum L. @ 5% w/w and eight vegetable oils viz., neem, castor, clove, mustard, sunflower, sesamum, coconut and groundnut oil @ 1% v/w were evaluated as grain protectants against Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) on green gram seeds. All the vegetable oils and A. indica kernel powder provided maximum protection up to 2 months resulting in 2.22 to 9.11% infestation and 1.13 to 5.10% weight loss only as against 56.67 to 61.33% and 30.77 to 32.60% in untreated seeds. P. nigrum and L. citrata were fairly effective in reducing infestation and weight loss by about 60% as compared to untreated seeds up to 2 months, while Z. oxyphyllum was the least effective followed by M. azedarach. None of the plant materials adversely affected the seed germinability.