Gumede Bongumusa Charles, Kuria Simon Kamande
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha 5117, South Africa.
Insects. 2025 Jan 6;16(1):48. doi: 10.3390/insects16010048.
This study aims to establish the pest management approach for pests of stored maize and determine the current control practices. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 77 smallholder farmers from 16 villages at King Sabata Dalindyebo local municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The results revealed that about 50% of the farmers had a formal education, the average farm size was 1 hectare, and they were predominantly cultivating yellow maize. Most farmers (57%) cultivated maize for human consumption, income generation, and livestock feeding. The results also showed that metal tanks tended to be the most preferred (81.82%) storage facility for storing maize. Furthermore, the study found that Motschulsky and (Olivier) were the major storage insect pests of maize. The storage pests were managed using synthetic pesticides (84.42%), namely aluminium phosphide. This pesticide is a solid formulation for generating gas phosphine for fumigation. The continued indiscriminate use of this pesticide in protecting stored maize in this region could be a health hazard to humans and may result in the development of pest resistance.
本研究旨在确立储存玉米害虫的虫害管理方法，并确定当前的防治措施。对南非东开普省萨巴塔·达林迪耶博国王地方市政当局16个村庄的77位小农户进行了半结构化问卷调查。结果显示，约50%的农户接受过正规教育，平均农场面积为1公顷，他们主要种植黄玉米。大多数农户（57%）种植玉米用于人类食用、创收和饲养牲畜。结果还表明，金属罐往往是储存玉米最受青睐的（81.82%）储存设施。此外，研究发现米象和谷蠹是玉米的主要储存害虫。储存害虫采用合成农药（84.42%）进行防治，即磷化铝。这种农药是一种用于产生熏蒸用磷化氢气体的固体制剂。在该地区持续无差别地使用这种农药来保护储存的玉米可能对人类健康构成危害，并可能导致害虫产生抗药性。
