Problems of development of resistance to phosphine by insect pests of stored grains¹

Abstract

The FAO global survey of pesticide sensitivity of stored grain pests in 1972–73 showed an overall incidence of phosphine resistance of 9.7% in insect strains from 82 countries, especially in Tribolium spp. and Rhyzopertha dominica. The levels of resistance increased under laboratory selection. Generally, eggs and pupae were found to be more tolerant, and fumigation doses have to be designed with these stages in mind. With increasing worldwide use of phosphine, resistance has become more frequent and occurs at a higher level and in other species (Cryptolestes ferrugineus, Oryzaephilus surinamensis). Studies of fumigation under different conditions in Bangladesh showed that common procedures, without use of sheets, led to chronic underdosing, creating ideal conditions for the selection of resistant strains. Such strains are very likely to be introduced into the EPPO region and established there. While inspection and control procedures in ports could limit this risk, these are costly and impractical. The problem is best tackled at source, by supporting projects aimed at improving the conditions under which grain is stored and fumigated in developing countries.

Ecological Networks in Stored Grain: Key Postharvest Nodes for Emerging Pests, Pathogens, and Mycotoxins

“…For example, rice with phosphine-resistant R. dominica was imported into Sri Lanka from Pakistan (Tyler et al. 1983 ), and phosphine-resistant C. ferrugineus was intercepted in the United States on commodities imported from India (Dyte and Blackman 1970 , Dyte and Halliday 1985 ). Reports of phosphine resistance have accumulated in both the United States and Australia for T. castaneum , C. ferrugineus, S. oryzae , and R. dominica (Opit et al.…”

Nanomaterials for Postharvest Management of Insect Pests: Current State and Future Perspectives

“…Therefore, only dependence on phosphine for fumigation due to nonavailability of other effective alternatives has inevitably resulted in insect resistance problems in many storage insect pests (Bengston et al, 1996;Chaudhry, 2000;Mills, 2001;Collins et al, 2002;Daglish et al, 2002;Hasan and Reichmuth, 2004;Pimentel et al, 2007;Wakil et al, 2021). The resistance to phosphine and other fumigants is observed in majority of stored grain pests such as red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae, and lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica which poses a very serious threat to postharvest grain produce around the globe (Dyte and Halliday, 1985;Badmin, 1990;Bell, 2000;Chaudhry, 2000;Valmas et al, 2008;Newman, 2010;Ali et al, 2013;Holloway et al, 2016;Collins and Schlipalius, 2018;Attia et al, 2020;Nayak et al, 2020;Collins et al, 2017). Thereby, insecticide resistance has become an issue of international importance (Champ and Dyte, 1977;Benhalima et al, 2004;Collins et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2006;Sparks et al, 2021).…”

Biological Effects of Essential Oils Against Rice WeevilSitophilus oryzaeL. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

“…In India, food grain losses during storage at the farm level approximate 10 % of the total production 6 . To protect stored grains from insect infestation, several synthetic chemicals pesticides came into existence and have been used for a long time, but with serious drawbacks like increased risk of neurotoxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic effects among non-targets and crossand multi-resistance in insects [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] . This has led to increased public awareness regarding the human safety and possible environmental damage due to uncontrolled use of insecticides and also diverted attention towards natural plants for the management of stored-grain insect pest.…”