Considering the high temperatures in the granary ships alongwith the transporting mat, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the influence of the temperature at the moment of spraying on the biological effectiveness of the bifenthrin. For the purpose the insecticide was sprayed on maize grains inside a climatic chamber maintained at the temperatures of 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 ºC with relative humidity around 55%. After the spraying and every fifteen days up to 90 days, analyses of the biological effectiveness were made by using insects of the Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). A decreasing tendency of the biological effectiveness of the bifenthrin was observed with the increase of the air temperature at the moment of spraying and with the increased time of maize storage, resulting in a smaller mortality of the insect-pest.
storage pests; chemical control; bifenthrin
