Fumigation with Pistacia lentiscus essential oil: efficacy for the control of Tribolium castaneum and impact on the wheat flour quality

Abstract: In Tunisia, cereals present main economic products. Insects are considered as serious problems threating the biosecurity of cereals production and industries. They caused significant losses in both the quality and quantity. Protection is based mainly on the use of chemical pesticides and synthetic fumigants. Nevertheless, broad spectrum insecticides caused damage on human health and environment. Therefore, safer alternatives are recommended damage on human health and environment. Therefore, safer alternatives are recommended. This paper deals with the use of Pistacia lentiscus essential oil as natural fumigant against adults of Tribolium castaneum under mill scale. Insect mortalities, occupation space mortalities, occupation space conditions and wheat flour quality were investigated after 15 days of storage. GC/MS analysis revealed that Alpha-pinene (18.48%), 2-beta-pinene (13.50) and Beta-Myrcene (22.59%) are the major compounds of P. lentiscus essential oil. Moreover, results showed that mortality depends on occupation percentage and storage period. In fact, mortalities reached 68.7% and 56.6% respectively for occupation of 50% and 100% after 15 days of storage. On the other hand, wheat flour chromatic analysis indicated that volatile compounds absorption by the wheat flour varied with occupation space and affected insect mortality in a manner that more compounds are absorbed, more mortality are obtained; In dead, the total amounts of the absorbed major compounds attained 2.52% and 1.02% of the total of the oil for 50% and 100% occupation spaces, respectively. Results indicated that under mill conditions, T. castaneum management could be successful by using P. lentiscus essential oil and by optimizing occupation space and storage duration parameters.