Tannin extracts of two sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. cultivars, BKS5 and BTX 623 were assessed for their bioactivity against the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in whole wheat flour pellets, and against the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) in whole wheat flour at three treatment levels. The number of adult progeny was reduced and number of days to emergence increased by tannins extracted from both sorghum cultivars at all treatment levels. However, the effects were not significant in all cases. In a short-term (25 days) feeding test using S.oryzae adults, the presence of sorghum tannins from cv. BKS 5 in the pellets significantly reduced feeding by the insects.

Intraspecific competition in the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (L.) and the angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella (Oliv.) in grain sorghum was studied in laboratory experiments. Progeny production per female of each of the two species when reared separately, decreased as the initial parent population density increased. The number of progeny produced by Sitophilus oryzae increased to a peak, and then declined sharply with a further increase in initial parent population density, characteristic of a scramble competition. In contrast, the progeny produced by Sitotroga cerealella increased with an increase in parental density to reach a fairly constant maximum (flat topped curve), characteristic of a contest competition. It is concluded that intraspecific competition will not limit the potential of the grain moth S. cerealella of becoming a major pest of stored sorghum.

Competition between larvae of Sitophilus oryzae (L.) and Sitotroga cerealella (Oliv.) within sorghum grains was studied at 30°C and 70% r.h. Newly hatched S. cerealella larvae (0 - 24 hr) were allowed to infest single sorghum grain having one S. oryzae egg deposited either on the endosperm half or the germ half. S. cerealella larvae were obtained from eggs of the same age as those of the weevil. The moth larvae entered the grain through the germ half. When S. oryzae egg was deposited in the germ half, S. cerealella survival probability was 0.78. However, when S. oryzae egg was deposited in the endosperm half, S. cerealella survival probability was 0.47. When the data for the two sites were combined the probability that the moth larvae will survive competition (P = 0.58) was not significantly different from that of the weevil. Hence, both larvae have similar chances of surviving competition within the sorghum grain.

Field infestation of millet by Sitotroga cerealella (initial infestation) has been studied in two cropping systems and in three locations in Senegal. In all cases, ears were attacked since harvest, but the level of damage was 10 times higher on ears from fields close to dwelling houses than on those away from dwelling houses. In this way, the author discusses the problematic conservation of millet seeds in farm conditions, depending on that initial infestation in one hand and on the other hand on storage method of millet ears in traditional granaries.

The susceptibility of the different stages of Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier) to gamma radiation was studied. The stages arranged in a descending order according to the values of gamma radiation LD50 are: adults (190.100 krad) for females and 183.200 krad for males, pupae (6.039 krad), 3 days old eggs (5.570 krad), one week old larvae (4.800 krad), 1-day-old eggs (4.181 krad) and 2 weeks old larvae (3.056 krad).

Experiments were carried out to study the effect of sublethal doses of gamma radiation (10–100 krad) on fecundity, longevity and sterility of adults of Silotroga cerealella. The results indicate that fecundity of females decreased as the dosage increased from 10–90 krad. At 100 krad no eggs were deposited. Raising the dose to 100 krad resulted in shortening the longevity to about half the longevity of the untreated moths. When irradiated females mated with similarly irradiated males, a dosage of 20 krad caused 97.17% sterility. A dose of 28 krad induced 96.69% sterility when normal females were mated with irradiated males, while 94.14% sterility resulted when normal males were mated with irradiated females.