Post-Harvest Susceptibility of Pearl Millet Hybrids to the Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst, 1797)

An evaluation was conducted at the Main Pearl Millet Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University, Jamnagar (Gujarat) in 2024 to compare the storage‐pest resistance of nine pearl millet hybrids against the rust red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Seeds of APHB 126, PB 1939, MP 7173, MP 7179, NBH 5992, US 7773, JKBH 1870, GHB 1305 and 86M01 were stored under ambient conditions and assessed after three and six months for grain damage, adult emergence, weight loss and seed germination. After three months, GHB 1305, APHB 126, MP 7214, NBH 5992, JKBH 1870, GHB 1337, HHB 67 Imp. and 86 M01 suffered minimal damage (0.25 %) and low emergence (2.5 adults/100 g), whereas HHB 344 exhibited the highest damage (2.13 %) and emergence (23.5 adults/100 g). At six months, NBH 5992 maintained the lowest grain damage (3.25 %), least weight loss (2.5 %) and highest germination (97 %), while HHB 344 recorded 23.13 % damage, 21 % weight loss and 77.5 % germination. NBH 5992, JKBH 1870, 86M01 and APHB 126 emerge as promising genotypes for enhanced post‐harvest resilience against T. castaneum. Key Words: Pearl millet, Tribolium castaneum, adult emergence, storage, seed germination