M.Bayu Mario, Muhammad Taufik, Asra Asra, Ahmad Komaini, Idul Anshar, Paridah Paridah, Wardani Syahrani, Laila Al Atsariyah, Bhintang Maharani, Ravindra Chandra Joshi, Lekhnath Kafle, Eirene Brugman, Ito Fernando
The maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a destructive pest of stored cereal grains in Indonesia, causing significant economic losses by reducing both quality and quantity of grains. This study examined host preference of S. zeamais among four Indonesian cereal grains: unhulled rice, milled rice, maize seed, and sorghum seed. A seven-day pairwise comparison assay was conducted using six grain combinations with seven replications under controlled laboratory conditions (28 ± 2 °C; 60 ± 5% relative humidity; 12:12 h light:dark photoperiod). Adults showed a marked preference for milled rice over unhulled rice and maize seed, while sorghum seed was significantly preferred over unhulled rice and maize seed. However, no significant preference was detected between milled rice and sorghum seed or between unhulled rice and maize seed. These results indicate relative host-settling patterns under two-choice conditions and should be interpreted considering that the preference arena did not include a neutral zone and that milled rice and unhulled rice represented different cultivars. The lower preference for maize seed and unhulled rice may be associated with physical grain attributes, particularly higher hardness and the presence of an intact husk, whereas the higher preference and suitability of milled rice and sorghum seed may be partly related to greater accessibility and nutritional attributes, including protein and carbohydrate availability. These findings highlight the combined role of physical grain defenses and nutritional attributes in shaping host-selection behavior and may support resistance-based storage management strategies against S. zeamais infestation. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
Department of Plant Pest and Disease, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Hasanuddin, Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia; Stored-Product Insect Research Group, Department of Plant Pest and Disease, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Hasanuddin, Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia; Integrated Pest and Disease Management Research Group, Department of Plant Pest and Disease, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Hasanuddin, Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia; Biopesticides and Natural Enemies Research Group, Department of Plant Pest and Disease, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Hasanuddin, Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan Km. 10, Makassar, 90245, Indonesia; Philippine Rice Research Institute, Philippines; Tropical Agriculture Association International, United Kingdom; Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International – Malaysia, Building A19, MARDI Serdang, Selangor, 43400, Malaysia; Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, 1 Shuefu Road, Neipu, Pingtung, Taiwan; Department of Plant Pest and Disease, Faculty of Bio-industry, Agriculture and Forestry, Universitas Brawijaya, Jalan Veteran, Malang, 65145, Indonesia
