Abstract
Incidence of seed pests, seed weight loss and their impact on germinability were studied in Syzygium malabaricum seeds. The seeds were found infested by insects representing the orders Coleoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera. The percentage of infestation in the seeds varied from 24 to 31.2 with an average of 27.5. The incidence of Coleoptera (Calandra sp.) was high with 64% followed by Diptera 22% and Lepidoptera 14 %. The percent weight loss in seeds due to infestation by the grubs of Calandra sp. ranged from 9.06 to 38.75 with an average of 27.69. Also, the study revealed that the percentage germination is inversely proportional to the percentage damage of seeds.
Keywords
Germinability, Infestation, Seeds, Weevils, Nursery condition, Random sampling