Plant powders prepared from five plant species were tested under constant conditions at 30 ± 2℃ and 60-65% r. h. for their ability to protect sorghum grains against Sitophilus zeamais in storage. Doses at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0g and 0.12g of the check (permethrin (0.6%) were applied for assessments of adult mortality, emergence and damage. Leaf powders of E. balsamifera, J. curcas and L. inermis gave the highest adult mortality (60.0-100%), while peel powder of C. sinensis and leaf powder of L. hastata recorded 47.50-82.50% adult mortality. Least adult emergence (0.00%) was observed when 2.0g of J. curcas was applied, while the highest (57.82%) was obtained from 0.5g L. hastata. All the plant powders showed significant (p < 0.05) adult mortality against S. zeamais with weevil perforation index (WPI) of < 50.00. This study was designed to observe the possibility of using plants parts to reduce grain damage caused by insect pests during storage.

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Quality deterioration in maize grain as judged by changes in proximate composition caused by S. zeamais after three months post infestation was determined by proximate analyses of the maize grain before and after the infestation. Fifty grammes of maize were treated with 0.5 g and 1.0 g of each plant powder (i.e. kernel of Azadiracta indica, bulb of Allium sativa, rhizome of Zingiber officinale, leaves of Nicotiana tabacum and Ocimum basilicum and along with conventional insecticide, Coopex). The results showed that the percentage total protein determined by the estimate of total nitrogen content did not decrease much after three months of post infestation. The percentage ash in the maize grain decreased with storage period. The percentage fibre was higher in the untreated control (7.02%), than on the treated grains (3.23%). The percentage carbohydrate however, decreased (69.85%) with increase in infestation period. The minerals content in infested grains decreased substantially due to insect feeding. The findings have indicated that all the tested materials have potentials of reducing effect of S. zeamais on the nutritional composition of maize grains at 1.0g of powder/50g of grains, but A. indica is more efficacious.

Efficacy of varying amounts of five selected local plant namely : Balanite aegyptiaca, Eugenia aromatica, Piper guineense, Ocimum gratisimum, and Ziziphus mauratania against the mortality, oviposition, progeny emergence and  weight loss of dried fish due to infestation by  Dermestes maculatus was studied under ambient conditions. The plant were pulverised into powders and applied as 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0 g per 50 g of dried fish. Three pairs of newly emerged adults by  were inoculated into each of the treated fish in a beaker, arranged in a Complete Randomized Design  in the laboratory. The result showed all the plant powders tested evoked significant mortalities of adults at the highest concentration (6) after 3 and 7 days of post-treatment when compared with untreated control. The rate of oviposition was drastically suppressed by all plant powders, especially at higher concentration.  The number of adults emerged were significantly lower than control at (p>0.05).  Similarly, all the plant's powders significantly prevented weight loss at highest concentration after 12 weeks of post-treatment periods. These results have shown that tested plants demonstrated potential ability against adults hide beetle infesting dried fish.

The intra-colonial population of individuals within the mounds of mound-building termite, Macrotermes bellicosus (Smeathman) occurring in some selected Local Government Areas of Sokoto State were studied. A total of 72 cone shaped mounds were selected based on their heights. Populations were estimated by randomly collecting and counting core samples from the mounds using a small bucket as the mounds were being excavated. At the end of the excavation, the total sand removed from the mound was crushed and measured using the same bucket. Total number of termites from a mound was extrapolated from the above estimates. Results indicate the presence of five different castes; reproductives, workers, minor and major soldiers and nymphs. The population of individuals per mound apart from the reproductives, ranged between 14158.00 and 24777.67 with an average of 18,795.49 termites per mound. The nymphs were the largest (5,942.60) closely followed by the workers (5,547.70), while the minor soldiers are the least with 3,279.38. Significant difference (p<0.05) occurred between minor soldiers and nymphs, major soldiers and nymphs, minor soldiers and workers and minor soldiers and nymphs in some of the studied areas. The present study show M. bellicosus to have high population within individual mounds enough to cause damage if ignored. Being a pestiferous species that could promote erosion, appropriate control strategies are required for its control.