Assessment of date fruit varieties for supporting Oryzaephilus surinamensis populations using age-stage, two-sex life table parameters

Saw-toothed grain beetle (Oryzaephilus surinamensis) is a prevalent insect-pest that infests stored products, particularly grains and dried fruits. Because stored food items have fruity scent, this insect pest found these strongly attractive. But in nations like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan, O. surinamensis is especially well-known for infesting preserved dates. Stages of O. surinamensis’ life cycle include egg, larva, pupa, and adult. This insect’s adults and larvae have been reported to infest wide range of foods. In order to evaluated O. surinamensis’s influence on stored goods, it is essential to analyzed its life table for better understanding of its population dynamics, including survival rates, developmental phases, and causes of death. Present study investigated life table statistics of O. surinamensis, when reared on different varieties of date fruits: Aseel, Basra, Zahdi, Dadhi, and Karbala. Findings provided valuable insights into how different date fruit varieties influenced development, reproduction, and population growth parameters of this pest species. Aseel variety, despite supporting longer lifespan and higher survival rate, not promoted rapid population growth or high fecundity. In contrast Karbala appeared to be more conducive to beetle’s reproductive success and population growth. These findings have important implications for management of O. surinamensis in date fruit storage and processing facilities, as understanding beetle’s preferences and performance on different date varieties can help in developing targeted pest control strategies both in local areas and broadly.