Radio frequency heat treatment for controlling cigarette beetle in dried tobacco

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is one of many agricultural commodities produced in Thailand. There are Virginia (flue-cured tobacco) and Burley (air-cured tobacco) typesand Cigarette beetle, Lasioderma sericorne F. is the most important insect pest that attacks dried tobacco. The efficacy of radio frequency (RF) heat treatment at 27.12 MHz was examined to control cigarette beetle on dried tobacco. Various growth stages of cigarette beetle were prepared within samples of dried tobacco and were exposed to RF at 55, 60, and 65 °C for 1, 2 and 3 minutes. The results showed that pupal and adult stages of cigarette beetle were the most tolerant stages to RF heat treatments. The RF treatment at 65 °C for 3 minutes is able to cause complete mortality of egg, larval, pupal and adult stages of cigarette beetle4.