To study how insect pests spoil food grains.
Storage of the food grains is an important task after harvesting. After harvesting the food grains should be packed and stored carefully without any damage. The grains must be dried to prevent spoilage by organisms.
The deterioration or damage of grain is generally known as grain spoilage. The bacteria, fungi and insects play key role in spoilage. Post-harvest spoilage may occur during harvesting, processing, transportation and storage. Changes in colour, smell, taste and loss in nutrients etc. are the reasons for the losses of food grain quality. Grain loss is a measurable decrease in total grain yield that can affect both the quantity and quality of grain yield. In the case of insect pests commonly Weevils causes food grain spoilage. For example, Rice weevil and the Granary weevil (Wheat weevil) are commonly visible food spoiled grains.
The grains are properly dried in the sunlight to prevent the spoilage by insect pests, other organisms and also for long time storage. Neem leaves were generally used for long time storage in home. And for the large-scale protection of grains farmers usually use big go-downs, silos and they use some chemical treatments to protect the grains from insect pests. Using moisture meter to evaluate the grain's moisture content before sending to storage is essential for grain producers, traders, and aggregators
