Populasi Hama Gudang Sitophilus zeamais L. pada Beberapa Varietas Jagung

Abstract

Maize is a major food commodity in Indonesia that is susceptible to storage pest infestations, particularly Sitophilus zeamais, which can reduce both the quality and quantity of harvested grains during storage. This study aimed to evaluate the vulnerability of three maize varieties—Paragon, NB, and Secada—to S. zeamais infestation based on several observed variables, including final population count, male-to-female ratio, percentage of perforated kernels, and percentage of weight loss. The research was conducted at the Plant Pest Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanjungpura University, using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three treatments and six replications. Each treatment consisted of 50 grams of maize kernels infested with five pairs of S. zeamais imagos. The results showed that the Paragon variety had the highest pest population (77 individuals), followed by NB (53.33 individuals) and Secada (40.83 individuals). The number of female S. zeamais was also highest in the Paragon variety (41.83 individuals), followed by NB (24.83 individuals) and Secada (19.33 individuals). The highest percentage of perforated kernels was recorded in Paragon (0.9134%), followed by NB (0.7787%) and Secada (0.7698%). Meanwhile, the highest weight loss was observed in the Paragon variety (0.0095%), followed by Secada (-0.007%) and NB (-0.0282%) as the variety with the lowest weight loss.