Mass production of Trichogramma chilonis:: an economical and advanced technique

The use of technological advances to enhance the economical production of Trichogramma chilonis indicated that radiation increased the incubation period of the eggs of Angournois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella, which proved useful to increase the parasitic potential of T chilonis. Results showed that a radiation dose of 25 Gy can be effectively used to enhance parasitic potential and to decrease the age effect of host eggs for parasitization. The parasitism on F-1 eggs, obtained from the parents irradiated as one-day old eggs at 25 Gy, was higher than that of normal or irradiated P-1 eggs. The use of nuclear techniques in the mass rearing facility of the parasitoids also enhanced the production of females who play an important role in the augmentative biocontrol programme. Studies revealed that Angournois grain moth eggs, after irradiation at 25 Gy, can be effectively stored at 10 for up to 40 days without disturbing the quality of the eggs for degreesC parasitization. This offered potential benefits of providing flexibility and efficiency in mass production of the parasitoids.