Evaluation of some powdered spices as toxicant against red flour beetle, tribolium castaneum herbst

Regarding the side effects of synthetic pesticides on food commodities, an experiment was designed to determine the biological activity of nine spices namely Turmeric, Chilli, Coriander, Garlic, Fennel seeds, Black pepper, Ginger, Fenugreek and Cumin against Tribolium castaneum. All the spices showed significant effect on adult mortality and germination viability among which highest adult mortality (9.67) as well as germination viability (95.67%) was recorded with black pepper (0.5g) treated seeds (50g). Whereas lowest adult mortality (1.00) was counted in untreated control and minimum germination viability (86.00%) was reported with ginger treated wheat grains. While all rest of spices varied significantly in their reaction to test insect. Furthermore, the sequence of toxic effect of spices as followed black pepper > cumin>chilli> coriander> garlic> fennel seeds> ginger>fenugreek>untreated control.