Abstract:
The larger grain borer is a serious pest of stored maize and dried had a higher proportion of mouldy grain. The larger grain borer was accidentally introduced from Central America into Tanzania in the late 1970s, and spread to other countries in the region. In West Africa it was first found in Togo in the early 1908s. It has now spread to many African countries becoming the most destructive pest of stored maize in both West and East Africa.
The larger grain borer is a serious pest of stored maize and dried cassava roots, and will attack maize on the cob, both before and after harvest. Adults bore into the cassava or maize husks, cobs or grain, making neat round holes and tunnelling extensively producing large quantities of grain dust as they tunnel. The adults prefer grain on cobs to shelled grain, thus damage on unshelled maize is greater than on loose, shelled maize.