Aplikasi Iradiasi Mesin Berkas Elektron untuk Disinfestasi Serangga Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) pada Tepung Terigu

Abstract

Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (T. castaneum) is a storage pest can create problem of wheat flour. The existing conventional preservation techniques for insect disinfestation are mostly insufficient to eliminate stadium of eggs, larva, pupae or imago of T. castaneum. Ionizing radiation using source electron beam machine (EBM) is the physical processing could be applied for insect disinfestation purposes. Some benefit using EBM are safe, effective and no residues on foodstuffs after process. The samples were divided into two groups, i.e. insect without wheat flour and insect infested in wheat flour thickness of 800 μm and thickness of 1600 μm, packed individually in polyethylene pouch, respectively. The EBM was set up to the energy 300 keV, and the samples were irradiated one and both sides at the beam currents of 100-500 μA, while conveyor velocity was 4 cm/second and gap of windows-target surface was 20 cm. The population of living insect at all stages by the strorage time was observed. The objective of the study was to conduct the effectiveness of electron beam machine in order to disinfested imago stage of T. castaneum. A comparative study using radionuclide [60Co] of gamma rays source was also conducted. Radiation treatment at the beam current of 300 μA on both sides of the infested samples without wheat flour, could eliminate all imago stage of T. castaneum immediately after the treatment as well as for gamma rays at 3 kGy. Base on the effectiveness irradiation on both sides with the beam currents of 200 μA could decline T. castaneum in all stages was infested into wheat flour at 800 μm thickness.