Advances in sustainable management for pests of stored tobacco

Abstract

Tobacco storage is a critical postharvest stage that affects product quality, economic value, and supply-chain stability. However, stored tobacco is vulnerable to insect infestation, particularly by Lasioderma serricorne (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Ptinidae) and Ephestia elutella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), whose larvae damage tobacco leaves and products through feeding, boring, webbing, and contamination. Conventional management relies heavily on chemical control, especially phosphine fumigation, because of its rapid efficacy and penetration into stored materials. Repeated chemical use has raised concerns about resistance, residues, worker safety, environmental impact, and the need to demonstrate compatibility with tobacco-quality requirements. Physical and biological control methods have therefore gained attention as complementary or alternative approaches. This review summarizes recent advances in chemical, physical, and bio-based management of tobacco storage pests, focusing on pest biology, monitoring, fumigants and contact insecticides, residue-free physical treatments, and integrated decision-making. These approaches are evaluated within a tobacco-specific integrated pest management framework that links prevention, sanitation, monitoring, source identification, risk-based intervention, treatment validation, resistance stewardship, and record-based continuous improvement. Established and near-term practices are distinguished from developmental approaches, including venom-derived insecticidal peptides, RNA interference, and artificial intelligence-assisted monitoring, whose applications in stored-tobacco systems require further validation. We compare these approaches in terms of efficacy, operational readiness, cost, scalability, environmental compatibility, worker safety, and tobacco-quality preservation and discuss how they may be integrated to reduce chemical dependence while maintaining effective pest suppression.