Rearing the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, on an artificial maize-cassava diet

Dry artificial diet pellets prepared with maize, cassava chips, and amino acid supplements (lysine and methionine) were evaluated for mass culture of Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a highly polyphagous pest of many stored grains. Evaluation was done in the laboratory at temperature 26 ± 2 °C, 60-70% RH, 12:12 L:D photoperiod. The artificial diet was compounded from different proportions of maize (M) variety TZPB-SW-R, cassava (C) variety TMS-2110, and amino acid supplements, and was pelletized into 6 mm diameter pellets on which five pairs of one-day-old S. zeamais were bioassayed. The diet M(9)C(1) (90% M and 10% C) was the most suitable diet with comparatively shorter developmental period (34.8 days) and the highest F(1) emergence of progeny (145.4) compared to the control, M(10)C(0) (100% M and 0% C).