Abstract. Pesticides are chemicals that kill or manage the population of pests. There are many different types of pesticides on the market today, but the most common are herbicides and insecticides, which kill or manage unwanted plants and insects. The benefits of pesticides include increased food production, increased profits for farmers and the prevention of diseases. Although pests consume or harm a large portion of agricultural crops, without the use of pesticides, it is likely that they would consume a higher percentage. More food is produced by farmers, thereby increasing profit. Pesticides also increase farm profits by helping the farmer save money on labor costs. Using pesticides reduces the amount of time required to manually remove weeds and pests from the fields. In addition to saving crops and livestock, pesticides have also had direct benefits to human health. It is estimated that since 1945, the use of pesticides has prevented the deaths of around seven million people by killing pests that carry or transmit diseases. Although there are benefits to the use of pesticides, there have also been many problems associated with their use. Pesticides do not always stay in the location where they are applied. They are mobile in the environment and often move through water, air and soil. The problem with pesticide mobility is that when they travel, the pesticides come in contact with other organisms and can cause harm. Pesticides have also been shown to disrupt the balance of an ecosystem. In many situations when a pesticide is used, it also kills non-pest organisms. This can drastically alter the natural balance of the ecosystem. By removing non-pest organisms, the environment can be changed to favor the pest. In addition to causing harm to wildlife, pesticides that travel from their original location are known to cause harm to humans. Human exposure to pesticides has caused poisonings, the development of cancer and the deaths of between 20000 and 40000 people worldwide each year. Another major problem associated with pesticide use is bioaccumulation and biological magnification. Bioaccumulation is when a substance builds up in the body because the body does not have the proper mechanisms to remove it. Many synthetic pesticides are not able to be broken down. Once they enter the body of an organism, they are permanently stored in the body tissue.

The Damage Potential, Loss and Physical Damage done to shelled, unshelled ground nut and tamarind by the groundnut bruchid were evaluated. The experiment was carried out in the , at room temperature 38 -39 0 C and relative humidity 45 -50 0 C. It was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The results obtained showed that the groundnut bruchid Caryedon serratus has the Potential and ability to destroy stored groundnuts and tamarind, making it unfit for consumption. Up to 90%, 80% and 79% damage and 70%, 68% and 64% weight loss were recorded in shelled, unshelled groundnut and tamarind respectively. All the treatments had high significant damage and loss caused by the test insect compared to the controls at P<0.05 level of significance using the Student Newman-Keuls (SNK) test for variables. Percentage mortality of adult bruchid was highest in unshelled groundnut (46.27) compared to tamarind (44.1) and females lay upto 305 eggs on shelled groundnut than unshelled groundnut (280.0) and tamarind (283.3).

Abstract. Study on the biology of groundnut bruchid, Caryedon serratus Olivier was carried out in the Laboratory of the Department of Agricultural Technology, Adamawa State College of Agriculture, Ganye, Adamawa State from June to September, 2015. The sex of the bruchid (male and female) was assigned the sub-treatment while the period of development was the main treatment and was replicated three times. The work considered the pre-oviposition stage, incubation stage, larval stage, pupal stage, adult stage and the total life cycle of the bruchid (male and female). The experiment was carried out under Laboratory conditions at 30-35°C temperature and 70-90% relative humidity. After the experiment was established, weekly counting of the total number of eggs laid was carried out at intervals. The results showed that, the mean developmental stages in both female and male bruchids were: 6.50 and 6.00 days; 17.00 and 18.00 days; 13.50 and 13.50 days; 12.00 and 13.50 days; 48.00 and 50.00 days for incubation stage, larval stage, pupal stage, adult stage and total life cycle of the bruchids, respectively. Moreover, the mean pre-oviposition and oviposition stages in female adult bruchid were 1.50 and 5.50 days, respectively.

An investigation was conducted to estimate the insecticidal deterrence of wild Spikenard (Hyptis suaveolens L. Poit) on adult mortality and female oviposition of groundnut bruchid, Caryedon serratus Olivier on stored groundnut seeds and tamarind pods. Data were taken on mean percentage mortality and mean number of eggs laid (female oviposition). The highest mean percentage mortality for both stored produces were reported in actellic dust and 12.00g levels of H. suaveolens whole powders (93.50; 91.75 and 92.25; 91.25) while the least were obtained in the controls (4.75; 3.25). Moreover, 12.00g levels of H. suaveolens whole powder and actellic dust recorded the least mean number of eggs laid (female oviposition)  (18.00; 17.00 and 19.25; 18.00) while the highest was reported in the controls (318.25; 305.50) respectively. There was no significant difference between the effects of rates of synthetic insecticides and 12.00g level of H. suaveolens whole powder in all the parameters measured.

The toxicity potentials of the wild lemon (Afreagle paniculate) and the African rock fig (Ficcus congensis Engl.) leaf powder as an alternative source of control against the cowpea seed bruchid (Callosobruchus maculatus Fab.) on stored cowpea was evaluated. The results obtained shows that, these plant material powdered leaves had remarkable effects on all the parameters measured. There were 76.34% and 77.20% undamaged seeds recorded respectively, when cowpea seeds were stored with these plant material powdered leaves compared to the control, 7.50%. High mortality of 84.61% and 85.51% respectively, was obtained in these plant material powdered leaves and the least was in the control, 16.84%. Likewise, there was only 7.67 and 6.01 number of adults that emerged while the control had 23.85. High number of eggs laid was recorded in the control. It was also found out that, these plant material powdered leaves are promising candidates for developing botanical, biodegradable and ecologically friendly insecticides which can be integrated with other pest management procedures and could replace the use of synthetic insecticides on small farmers holding. Therefore, the leaf powders are recommended for storing cowpea seeds for at least 12 weeks giving the grains perfect state of wholesomeness.