Bruchid a Serious Pest on Pulse Crops: Its Control Measures and Breeding Advancements: A Review

Bruchid (Callosobruchus spp.) are the most destructive, notorious storage pest of pulses in the tropical and sub-tropical region. The yield losses are higher than half of the expected yield with in the short period of time. Bruchid initial infestation started in the field and shortly builds up during storage time and cause severe seed damage up to 100 per cent. Bruchid infestation ranges from 60 to 100% within two to three months of storage period. Among the different bruchid species, cowpea weevils (C. maculatus F.) and azuki bean weevils (Callosobruchus chinensis L.) are the most destructive storage pest of pulses. Though several options are now available to identify the elite genotypes against bruchid infestation, still the development of genotypes with sufficient level of host plant resistance is not achieved. In this pursuit, the present article has given a detailed review of the major species of bruchid, insect life style, management practices, screening technique, sources of resistance, novel breeding strategies and recent advancements including use of molecular markers in marker aided selection and QTL studies for bruchid resistance.