Evaluation of Insect Infestation and Insecticide Residue Levels in Some Stored Pulses

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the levels of insect infestation in some stored pulses, the broad beans, cowpeas and the chickpeas obtained from local markets of six governorates in Egypt. It was also aimed to evaluate the levels of insecticides residue in these pulses according to the maximum residue limits (MRLs) announced by The Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, and also estimate the correlation between level of insect infestation and some physiochemical characters of the infested pulses. The results could be summarized as follows: 1. Detection of Insect Infestation in Pulses Seeds: Results revealed that two insect species have been detected, identified and recorded in the collected pulses samples from the six governorates, they were the cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus and Chinese bruchid, Callosobruchus chinensis. The highest insect infestation occurred in chickpeas seeds obtained from Cairo governorate followed by cowpea from Qalubia governorate. While, the lowest infestation was recorded in the broad bean samples obtained from Cairo and Ismailia, cowpeas from Ismailia and chickpeas