African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6894

Full Length Research Paper

Effects of insect population density and storage time on grain damage and weight loss in maize due to the maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais and the larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus

Tadele Tefera1*, Stephen Mugo1 and Paddy Likhayo2
  1International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), ICRAF House, UN Avenue, Gigiri, PO Box 1041, 00621 Village Market, Nairobi, Kenya. 2Kenya Agricultural Reserch Institute (KARI), National Agricultural Laboratories, Nairobi, Kenya.
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 06 April 2011
  •  Published: 31 May 2011

Abstract

 

In the period 2007 to 2010, at localities Backi Maglic and Krivaja studies of weed seedbank were performed under soybean crop. Results showed that weed seed separated at Backi Maglic in all years dominated in the top soil layer, while the lowest quantities were separated from the deepest layer, and that number of weeds declined annually. At Krivaja, the lowest weed seed stocks were found in the top layer, and the highest in the deepest layer. At this locality, number of weed seeds kept rising from season to season, which was the consequence of application of different cultural practices.

 

Key words: Soybean, weed seedbank, Amaranthus retroflexus L., Chenopodium album L.,Datura stramonium L.