SUSCEPTIBILITY OF PRO-VITAMIN A BIOFORTIFIED MAIZE GENOTYPES TO SITOPHILUS ZEAMAIS (Mots) IN GHANA

Pro-Vitamin A Biofortified maize is one of the crops with the cheapest and most sustainable option for preventing Vitamin A deficiency in humans in Ghana. It is also a key energy component of feed for layer chicken, forming about 60-70% of the total feed. Sitophilus zeamais is one of the most serious primary internal feeding pests of maize and other grains in sub-Saharan Africa. It causes both quantitative and qualitative grain losses. Two no - choice laboratory experiments in 112 days cumulative feeding of S. zeamais and 60 days susceptibility of six pro- Vitamin A Biofortified Maize (PVABM) genotypes to the insect were conducted. The experimental designs were Completely Randomized Design in four replications. Percentage grain damage and weight loss were significantly lower (P